Can you catch squid at Wirrina Cove right now?

No. A total closure on southern calamari has applied across Gulf St Vincent under South Australia's algal-bloom recovery rules since 1 May 2026, with no end date published — that means no take and no possession, so squid fishing is off until the closure lifts. The breakwater is genuinely a strong squid spot in normal seasons, but check PIRSA or the SA Fishing app for the current status before you plan around it.

Do you need a fishing licence to fish at Wirrina Cove?

No general recreational fishing licence is required in South Australia, so you can fish the breakwater rocks without a permit. You still have to follow the size, bag and boat limits and any active closures — and right now squid and garfish are closed in Gulf St Vincent and snapper is closed across the gulf zones until 30 June 2027. King George whiting stays legal here — its 1 March to 30 June spawning closure covers mapped Investigator Strait waters offshore.

Where do you fish land-based at Wirrina Cove Marina?

Work the outer breakwater rock walls that face open Yankalilla Bay, not the sheltered marina side — the open-bay walls are where bait, squid and whiting move. Park in the marina precinct and walk to the walls; the boat ramp is right there. Keep clear of the ramp channel, which gets busy on weekends.

Is Wirrina Cove good for King George whiting?

Yes, in season — the broken reef and weed off the walls suits whiting, best roughly August through March on light line and a berley trail with cockle or worm bait. The 1 March to 30 June spawning closure covers mapped Investigator Strait waters offshore, not the walls. In gulf waters (east of longitude 136 degrees east) the minimum length is 32cm, and in the Gulf St Vincent and Kangaroo Island zone the daily bag limit is 5 with a boat limit of 15.

What can you actually catch at Wirrina Cove right now?

With squid and garfish under total closure in Gulf St Vincent, the realistic land-based targets are King George whiting, snook, Australian salmon, yelloweye mullet, herring (tommy ruff) and flathead. Salmon and mullet in particular fish well through autumn and winter off the rocks and the nearby Normanville beach.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Wirrina Cove Marina (Marina St Vincent)

Tue 13 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated 10:36pm ACDT

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13 Oct

Today

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Wirrina Cove Marina (Marina St Vincent)

new · 3%

Weather: Sunny Wind: SE 149° · 8 km/h Swell: 1.3 m @ 8 s S Water: 16.1 °C Pressure: 1030.6 hPa ↑ rising Faces north-west · Offshore: E, SE, S · Onshore: W, NW, N · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Strong flow

Wind SW 8 km/h

Moon new all day

Water temp 16.1 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Now

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:11 am Last light 7:55 pm

High 5:07 am Low 11:43 am High 5:33 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

2:30 pm → 4:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

2:30 am → 3:30 am

First light

6:11 am

Last light

7:55 pm

Sunrise

6:37 am

Sunset

7:29 pm

Moonrise

7:35 am

Moonset

10:16 pm

High tide

5:07 am

Low tide

11:43 am

High tide

5:33 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☁️

9°

←︎

253°

5 km/h

1am

☁️

9°

↙︎

222°

7 km/h

2am

☁️

9°

↙︎

226°

7 km/h

3am

☁️

9°

↙︎

239°

6 km/h

4am

☁️

8°

↙︎

230°

6 km/h

5am

☁️

9°

↙︎

218°

6 km/h

6am

☁️

9°

↙︎

207°

8 km/h

7am

☁️

10°

↓︎

200°

10 km/h

8am

☀️

12°

↙︎

203°

12 km/h

9am

☁️

13°

↓︎

196°

17 km/h

10am

🌧️

14°

↓︎

183°

18 km/h

11am

🌧️

14°

↓︎

178°

17 km/h

12pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

172°

17 km/h

1pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

171°

16 km/h

2pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

173°

17 km/h

3pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

174°

17 km/h

4pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

171°

17 km/h

5pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

166°

17 km/h

6pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

161°

15 km/h

7pm

☁️

11°

↓︎

158°

13 km/h

8pm

☁️

11°

↘︎

152°

13 km/h

9pm

☁️

11°

↘︎

151°

12 km/h

10pm

☀️

11°

↘︎

148°

10 km/h

Now

☀️

10°

↘︎

149°

8 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.3 m SW

12am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

2am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

3am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

4am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

5am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.2 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.2 m

@ 7 s

↙︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.2 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.2 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

10am

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

11am

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

12pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

1pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

2pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

3pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

4pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

5pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

6pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

7pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

8pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

9pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

10pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Moderate

Now

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 16.1°

Sat

10 Oct

16.0°

Sun

11 Oct

16.1°

Mon

12 Oct

16.3°

Tue

13 Oct

16.1°

Wed

14 Oct

16.1°

Thu

15 Oct

16.1°

Fri

16 Oct

16.4°

Sat

17 Oct

16.8°

Sun

18 Oct

17.1°

Mon

19 Oct

17.4°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 8 km/h SE (149°).

Wind map data: ECMWF HRES (operational), updated every 6 hours. Not for navigation.

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

2:30 pm → 4:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

2:30 am → 3:30 am

First light

6:11 am

Last light

7:55 pm

Sunrise

6:37 am

Sunset

7:29 pm

Moonrise

7:35 am

Moonset

10:16 pm

High tide

5:07 am

Low tide

11:43 am

High tide

5:33 pm

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