Victor Harbor and Goolwa fishing spots

Encounter Bay mixes sheltered jetties at Granite Island, the Bluff and Port Elliot with open surf beaches: Waitpinga and Parsons for salmon to the west, and Goolwa Beach running to the Murray Mouth, one of SA's best-known mulloway beaches. It sits in the South East fishing zone, so squid and garfish are open here.

Updated 9 Oct 2026

5 spots here, all fished from land. Seasons follow our Gulfs, Fleurieu & KI species list for South Australia. Positions are a guide only, not for navigation.

Under each spot, "Forecast for this spot" opens the app's forecast worked out for that spot: Go, Marginal or No-go for each day of the week ahead, with the best times, wind, waves and tide. Open the forecast.

Spots at a glance

5 spots: Victor Harbor and Goolwa
Spot	Type	Fished from	Water	Marine park
1. Waitpinga Beach	Beach	Land-based	Ocean coast	Encounter Marine Park
2. The Bluff (Rosetta Harbor) jetty	Jetty	Land-based	Bay, estuary or river	Encounter Marine Park
3. Granite Island causeway & screwpile jetty	Jetty	Land-based	Ocean coast	Encounter Marine Park
4. Goolwa Beach (Sir Richard Peninsula)	Beach	Land-based	Ocean coast	Encounter Marine Park
5. Murray Mouth	Estuary	Land-based and boat	Bay, estuary or river	Encounter Marine Park

1. Waitpinga Beach

Type: Beach · ocean coast (beach or rocks)
Access: Land-based. Clifftop car park shared with Parsons Beach (stairs down to Parsons).
What's good here: In season in October: Australian salmon and yelloweye mullet.
Best tide: Dawn and dusk are favoured for salmon.
Best wind: Best in light northerlies (offshore) with a small swell. Faces S.
Note: Exposed red-sand surf beach west of Victor Harbor, a long-standing salmon beach; Parsons Beach next door has seasonal salmon runs too.
Safety: Treacherous surf and strong rips: not patrolled. Hooded plover nesting area: dogs restricted.
Zone: Point sits in a general managed use zone (line fishing allowed); No marine park sanctuary or restricted access zone within 6 km of this point (DEW zoning layer) Guide only, not for navigation: check cdn.environment.sa.gov.au map (PDF).
Map: -35.63300, 138.49000 · Open in Google Maps (position: Waitpinga Beach, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

2. The Bluff (Rosetta Harbor) jetty

Type: Jetty · bay, estuary or river
Access: Land-based. Short unsealed road past the Bluff boat ramp; small jetty, first in best dressed.
What's good here: Peak in October: southern calamari. Also in season: tommy ruff and silver trevally.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Tucked inside the point: good shelter from westerlies.
Note: Small, sheltered jetty inside the Bluff; a specialist spot for big squid and tommies.
Safety: Jetty decks get slippery when wet.
Zone: Point sits in a habitat protection zone (line fishing allowed); Encounter RAZ-4 restricted access zone (Encounter Marine Park) about 2.8 km from this point: no fishing inside it Guide only, not for navigation: check cdn.environment.sa.gov.au map (PDF).
Map: -35.58540, 138.61210 · Open in Google Maps (position: Rosetta Harbor, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

3. Granite Island causeway & screwpile jetty

Type: Jetty · ocean coast (beach or rocks)
Access: Land-based. Walk or take the horse tram across the causeway; fish the causeway or jetty only (not the breakwater).
What's good here: Peak in October: southern calamari, snook and mulloway. Also in season: tommy ruff, Australian salmon, silver trevally and southern garfish.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: The island gives shelter from westerlies; south-easterlies hit the causeway.
Note: The screwpile jetty is rated the most productive in Victor Harbor: squid when the water is clear, tommies, trevally and salmon, and past mulloway and sharks.
Safety: Causeway closes in storms and has no shelter. Do not fish from slippery rocks.
Zone: Point sits in a habitat protection zone (line fishing allowed); Encounter Bay sanctuary zone (Encounter Marine Park) about 3.2 km from this point: no fishing inside it Guide only, not for navigation: check cdn.environment.sa.gov.au map (PDF).
Map: -35.56440, 138.63010 · Open in Google Maps (position: Granite Island, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

4. Goolwa Beach (Sir Richard Peninsula)

Type: Beach · ocean coast (beach or rocks)
Access: Land-based. 4WD beach driving from the Goolwa access (keep off the dunes); about 11-12 km to the Murray Mouth.
What's good here: Peak in October: mulloway. Also in season: Australian salmon and yelloweye mullet.
Best tide: Lower tide for driving; watch the incoming tide.
Best wind: Best in light northerlies (offshore) with a small swell. Faces SSW.
Note: Long surf beach for mulloway, some over a metre, plus salmon trout and Coorong mullet; a surf rod to cast past the breakers helps.
Safety: Incoming tides catch drivers out: travel near low tide. Surf with strong rips.
Zone: Point sits in a habitat protection zone (line fishing allowed); No marine park sanctuary or restricted access zone within 6 km of this point (DEW zoning layer) Guide only, not for navigation: check cdn.environment.sa.gov.au map (PDF).
Map: -35.54040, 138.83930 · Open in Google Maps (position: Sir Richard Peninsula, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

5. Murray Mouth

Type: Estuary · bay, estuary or river
Access: Land-based and boat. 4WD along Goolwa Beach, or boat from the Beacon 19 ramp on the sea side of the barrages.
What's good here: Peak in October: mulloway. Also in season: Australian salmon and yelloweye mullet.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Best in light winds; strong onshore winds and big swell make the mouth dangerous.
Note: Where the river meets the sea: mulloway, salmon and mullet in the mouth and nearby surf. Dredging keeps the channel open.
Safety: Fast currents and shifting sandbars at the mouth. Do not try to cross the mouth by boat.
Zone: Point sits in a habitat protection zone (line fishing allowed); Coorong Beach North sanctuary zone (Encounter Marine Park) about 5.9 km from this point: no fishing inside it; Black bream may not be taken in the Lakes and Coorong 1 Aug-31 Jan Guide only, not for navigation: check cdn.environment.sa.gov.au map (PDF).
Map: -35.55830, 138.88510 · Open in Google Maps (position: Murray Mouth, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

Boat ramps

South Australia's boat ramp layer isn't published under an open licence we could confirm, so we don't list its ramps yet.

What's biting here in October?

In peak season at Victor Harbor and Goolwa in October: mulloway, southern calamari, snook and black bream. Of the 22 species our Gulfs, Fleurieu & KI list has for this part of the coast, 4 peak in October 2026 and 17 more are in season.

Peak in October: mulloway, southern calamari, snook and black bream.

Also in season: Australian salmon, yelloweye mullet, tommy ruff, silver trevally, southern garfish, snapper, King George whiting, yellowfin whiting, flathead, blue swimmer crab, yellowtail kingfish, samsonfish, sweep, gummy shark, bronze whaler, blue morwong and bight redfish and nannygai.

Closed now in part of the area: southern calamari in False Bay cephalopod exclusion zone near Whyalla (permanent, all squid, cuttlefish and octopus) (all year); black bream in Lakes and Coorong waters (spawning closure: no take or possession of black bream) (1 August to 31 January); black bream in Onkaparinga River upstream of the Main South Road bridge, Noarlunga (no fishing for bream) (1 September to 30 November).

Out of season in October: southern bluefin tuna (best Mar–May).

Seasons are closure-aware: a species is never listed as in season, for the area or at a spot, while it is closed there; a closure for part of the area says where. Species links go to our South East Queensland species guides, with Queensland's limits: South Australia's own size and bag limits are on the official rules page.

Can you fish here? Rules and safety

No recreational fishing licence or fee in SA (checked 9 Oct 2026). Rock lobster pots must be registered: $94 for 1 pot or $261 for 2 (2026-27, expires 31 May). Licence details. Size and bag limits and closed seasons apply: South Australia's limits (checked 9 Oct 2026).

Rules at Victor Harbor and Goolwa

South East fishing zone: snapper open with a 38 cm minimum, bag 5 and a mandatory catch report; calamari and garfish open.
Encounter Bay sanctuary zone covers the coast from Port Elliot towards Middleton (shore fishing is allowed only on the marked special purpose beach); West Island is an aquatic reserve.
Granite Island: fishing from the jetty and causeway only, not the breakwater.
Coorong and Lower Lakes: black bream closed 1 Aug-31 Jan; no recreational pipis on the Coorong Beach (Younghusband Peninsula) from the Murray Mouth to 28 Mile Crossing; the statewide pipi season is closed 1 Jun-31 Oct, and Goolwa Beach pipis are for bait only under algal bloom health advice.
Gear that touched the sea floor east of 139 deg E in under 30 m must be decontaminated before use elsewhere (abalone virus).

Marine parks and no-take zones

The zone notes here name Encounter Marine Park. Zones are a guide only, not for navigation: check the official maps before you fish.

Safety at Victor Harbor and Goolwa

The surf beaches here have strong rips and are mostly unpatrolled.
The Murray Mouth has fast currents and shifting bars; never try to cross it by boat.
Goolwa Beach driving needs a 4WD and an eye on the incoming tide.
White sharks are present in SA waters.

South Australia: official links

Read the official forecast and warnings in the Bureau of Meteorology's own words: SA coastal and local waters forecast map and current warnings.

Boating: South Australia boating safety and lifejacket rules. Lifejackets: Motor boats <=4.8m: all wear, underway or at anchor. 4.8-12m: kids 12 and under in open areas; all at heightened risk (alone, night, bar, warnings). From 1 Oct 2026: L100+ when handling cray pots.

Heading out on the water? Log on and off with Volunteer Marine Rescue coastal radio network (SA SES and VMR associations, e.g. Sea Rescue Adelaide, Coast Guard Ardrossan, VMR Tumby Bay, Whyalla Sea Rescue). Contact the relevant Coast Station soon after launching: call sign, departure point, destination, people on board, ETA. Log off when back. Stations' channels and hours vary.

Marine parks and closed areas: SA marine parks - maps and coordinates, PIRSA fishing zones and closures and Australian Marine Parks (South-west network, e.g. Great Australian Bight).

Non-life-threatening marine rescue: SA Police 131 444 for a volunteer marine rescue response. More.
Crayfishing lifejacket rule: From 1 Oct 2026 everyone aboard a recreational vessel in coastal waters must wear Level 100+ when handling, hauling or carrying rock lobster pots. More.

South Australia's official rules: size and bag limits and closed seasons and areas (checked 9 Oct 2026).

Emergency: 000 (112 from mobiles) · VHF channel 16 for distress.

Nearby fishing areas

Fleurieu gulf coast: Sellicks to Cape Jervis (about 42 km west)
Adelaide metro beaches and jetties (about 76 km north)
Kangaroo Island (about 99 km west)
Yorke Peninsula (about 152 km north-west)

Distances are between the middle of each area. Every area in South Australia · all fishing spot guides.

Sources and checked dates

Spot and ramp positions: Composite Gazetteer of Australia (Geoscience Australia and the state and territory naming authorities), CC BY 4.0 and ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3 (2021) (Australian Bureau of Statistics), CC BY 4.0; gazetteer and ABS positions through our place index. Guide only, not for navigation.
Spot research checked 9 Oct 2026 and fact-checked 9 Oct 2026; species seasons and rules checked 9 Oct 2026; safety links checked 9 Oct 2026. Text in our own words.
Research sources: lsa4.geohub.sa.gov.au (DEW State Marine Park Network Zoning layer (Location SA): every spot point-checked against sanctuary and restricted access zones on 9 Oct 2026); marineparks.sa.gov.au (Official marine park zoning maps with coordinates (per park PDFs used as zone.url)); pir.sa.gov.au (Which fishing zone (West Coast, Spencer Gulf, GSV/KI, South East) the area falls in); pir.sa.gov.au (Closures, aquatic reserves, gear restrictions and rock lobster sanctuaries); data.sa.gov.au (SA State Gazetteer jetty points (CC BY 4.0)); lsa4.geohub.sa.gov.au (Location SA Jetties layer: jetty lines (landward end used as the coordinate; seaward bearing used for faces)); lsa4.geohub.sa.gov.au (Location SA Boat Ramps layer (DIT boating facilities): ramp coordinates and record ids); visitvictorharbor.com (Screwpile jetty, causeway and Bluff jetty species); parks.sa.gov.au (Fishing allowed from jetty and causeway, not the breakwater; causeway closures); en.wikipedia.org (Waitpinga Beach salmon and mullet); sandee.com (Parsons Beach seasonal salmon, access stairs, no patrols); unsealed4x4.com.au (Goolwa Beach driving and mulloway); caravancorrespondent.com (Murray Mouth species and Goolwa ramps either side of the barrages); pir.sa.gov.au (South East zone snapper rules); cdn.environment.sa.gov.au (Encounter Marine Park zoning map).
Every source and licence: Sources and disclaimers.