Venus Bay Jetty

Venus Bay is a bay about 16 km across that is almost entirely land-locked, drained through one narrow sea entrance at South Head and dissected down the middle by a marked channel running up to Port Kenny. The town jetty is a short, curving 100 metre platform on the foreshore that fishes day and night, and the local tourism line for it is a top spot for fishing and relaxing with the kids. That is a fair summary of a place where the catch is tommy ruff, trevally and salmon in numbers rather than trophy anything. It is also, in 2026, a squid jetty that is still allowed to be one: Venus Bay sits in the West Coast fishing zone, north of the 34°S line that caps the Spencer Gulf zone, so the calamari and garfish closures that shut both gulfs on 1 May 2026 do not reach here. The jetty is commercially classed and working boats use it, and the caravan park on the foreshore hires boats. Two local truths are worth knowing before you drive: the King George whiting here are usually on the small side, and the water is often clear enough that light line and a careful presentation beat distance.

Fish light, because the clarity of this bay punishes heavy rigs, and bring your own lantern if the session is going to run past dusk — nothing published documents lights on this deck. Tommy ruff, trevally and salmon are plentiful day or night on small baits and light rigs, and they are the reason most people come. Garfish and mullet come to a float over steady berley on the calm mornings, and squid come to a jig worked slowly in the clear water, which is the whole reason to be pleased about the West Coast zone right now. King George whiting move in during late autumn and winter and bite best on days with good tidal movement, which is the single most useful thing anyone has written about this jetty. A 16 km bay draining through one entrance moves serious water past a 100 metre structure, and slack water in shallows like these is dead. Yellowfin whiting spread onto the summer flats, and sand crabs turn up at the right time of year on a drop net or a rake. Watch the tide as much as the clock, since much of the bay dries out at low water and where you can fish moves with it.

Tommy ruff are the everyday catch with no minimum size and a bag of 40. Southern calamari are open here, no size limit, with a bag of 15 per person and 45 per boat combined with cuttlefish — the gulf closures do not apply in the West Coast zone. Garfish are 23 cm with a bag of 30. King George whiting are 30 cm on this coast rather than the gulf's 32 cm, with a bag of 10 and a boat limit of 30, though the honest local assessment is that the fish here are usually on the small side. Trevally are 24 cm and a bag of 20, salmon 21 cm with a bag of 20 up to 35 cm and 10 above it, mullet 21 cm and 60, and yellowfin whiting 24 cm and 20. The local word is sand crabs, which may mean either species: sand crabs are 10 cm across the carapace and blue swimmers 11 cm, sharing a combined bag of 20 and a boat limit of 60, with berried females straight back and no seasonal closure, and fish-based bait only in the nets, because meat and chicken are illegal. Snapper are closed in this zone as well until at least 30 June 2027, so the West Coast pass does not extend to them.

Fish the run of the tide, not the hour of the day. Good tidal movement is what switches the winter whiting on here, and a bay this size emptying through one entrance gives you plenty of it if you time the session. Go at night when the water is glassy and clear, with lighter line and smaller hooks than you would use in a gulf. Expect company on the deck, because this is a commercially classed jetty and working boats use it. Port Kenny at the head of the same bay has its own small jetty and has been a recognised fishing spot for trevally and salmon since the late 1920s — not the largest jetty in the state, but a decent feed in the right conditions.

The jetty is free and sits on the town foreshore with parking beside it and a short flat walk out. The Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park is on the foreshore and hires boats. Toilets, a cleaning bay, lighting and mobility access at the jetty itself are not documented in any source consulted, so plan around the caravan park and the town. Carry a lantern if the session is going to run past dusk. This is a small settlement rather than a service centre — bring bait, fuel and supplies with you, and treat the drive as part of the trip.

The bay is sheltered from swell by being nearly land-locked, so wind matters more than sea state and the governing variable is tide. Good tidal movement turns the winter King George whiting on and slack water in a bay this shallow is dead water. Clear water is the norm here, which favours light line, small hooks and a quiet approach over distance. Late autumn and winter bring the whiting in; summer brings the sand crabs and the small kingfish that locals call rats. Much of the bay dries out at low tide, so where you can fish moves through the day, and the sea entrance at South Head becomes unsafe when wind and tide oppose each other.

The jetty carries strong tidal currents, which the caravan park says itself and which is not the sort of thing an accommodation business volunteers lightly — mind children and mind a hooked fish dragging line into the current. The sea entrance at South Head can be unsafe, especially when wind and tide oppose each other, and Howard Rock breaks offshore at 33°14.855'S 134°38.072'E. Much of the bay is very shallow at low tide, so wading and small boats both need the tide read properly. Commercial vessels use this deck, so keep the walkway clear and expect gear and traffic. Sanctuary zones sit closer here than anywhere else on this coast — the nearest mapped one is 5.9 km north-west, and the Germein Island zone, which the marine park plan names without publishing any coordinates for it, sits close in to the north — so know where you are before you drift. No spearfishing is allowed within 100 m of any jetty in South Australia.

Yes. Venus Bay is in the West Coast fishing zone, north of the 34°S line that caps the Spencer Gulf zone, so the total calamari closure that shut both gulfs on 1 May 2026 does not apply here. The bag is 15 a person and 45 a boat, counted with cuttlefish, and there is no minimum size. Clear water and the hours after dark are the local formula, though you bring your own light for it.

Tommy ruff, trevally and salmon are plentiful day or night, with garfish and mullet over berley, squid on jigs in the clear water, and King George whiting through late autumn and winter — though the whiting here are usually on the small side. Yellowfin whiting work the summer flats and sand crabs turn up in the warmer months.

On a moving tide. The bay empties through a single entrance, so the run past the deck is strong, and King George whiting in particular bite best on days with good tidal movement. The water is often very clear, so light line and small hooks do more than a long cast, and anyone staying after dark should carry a lantern, because no source documents lighting on the deck.

Yes. The District Council of Elliston lists it as one of its three jetties with a straight recreational description and no closure note, and the local tourist park describes a 100 metre curving jetty with strong tidal currents where trevally, salmon and tommy ruff are plentiful day or night. It is commercially classed, so expect working boats. The council began a coastal hazard assessment covering Elliston, Venus Bay and Port Kenny on 11 December 2025, so check for signage before a long drive.

30 cm, because the size splits at the 136°E meridian and Venus Bay sits at about 134°40'E, well west of it. The bag is 10 per person and 30 per boat. There is no whiting spawning closure in force anywhere in South Australia today; the 2026 one was lifted on 6 July 2026 and the next runs 1 March to 30 June 2027 over mapped gulf waters.