Fishing & Boating
Fishing
Fantastic fishing from boats, beaches, jetties or rocks, amongst some of the most beautiful coastline you will ever see.
If you are into serious fishing or just enjoy dangling a line from the jetty, there is something for everyone.
If you don't have your own boat, charter operators are available from many of the coastal towns.
A taste of some of the catches on offer:
Blue swimmer crabs can be caught by raking or netting all year round, summer months are more productive and the warmer water makes raking more enjoyable.
Succulent King George Whiting can be caught from both sides of the peninsula and is undoubtedly one of the tastiest meals you will catch from the sea.
Squid - Salt and peppered, crumbed, stir fried or marinated, squid is extremely versatile. Easily caught on squid lures from boats or jetties.
Garfish - Dabbing with a light at night or fishing with a float using gents for bait are the easiest ways to catch a meal of garfish. With tender white flesh they are delicious filleted and lightly fried with a generous dob of garlic butter.
Tommy Ruffs and Mullet - Abundantly caught in most places on Yorke Peninsula using cockles or gents. Both are tasty eating fish and often underrated, best eaten fresh they are great on the BBQ, crumbed, salt and peppered or if you have time, tommies are fantastic when smoked!
Snapper - A great fighting fish and you are well rewarded with the mouth watering taste. Only available from boats in deeper water off the coast, the most common bait is squid heads, pilchards or fillets of fresh fish.
Snook - Trailing a lure from your boat is the best way to catch snook. Fresh fillets on the BBQ are fantastic and they are one of the best fish for smoking or try a snook mornay!
Prawns - The vast expanse of water to the East of Yorke Peninsula is Spencer Gulf. The Prawn Fishing Fleet operates there 80 nights per year. Prawn seasons vary with tight monitoring of the spawning period, growth rates and prawn numbers. Local prawns can be purchased from seafood outlets around the region.
Snapper closures in SA
The following link will take you to important information from PIRSA regarding the new snapper fishing closures for South Australia:
http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/fishing/closures_and_aquatic_reserves/fishing_closures/snapper_closures
Boat Fishing And Boat Ramp Facilities
Click here for information regarding the Jetties, Beaches & Boat Ramps on the Copper Coast.
Click here for Tide Times
To read the Yorke Peninsula Fishing Guide click here
Bait is readily available from most general stores, service stations and fishing shops.
Help protect South Australia's valuable fish stocks by adhering to bag, boat and size limits. It is also important to remember that the snapper closure season runs right through November.
For information regarding using personal watercraft eg. Jetskis click here
Port Hughes, Moonta Bay And Wallaroo
Crabbers flock to this area from September to April in the quest for tasty blue swimmer crabs.
The historic jetties in these Copper Coast townships are some of the most popular in the state for fishing. There are tremendous hauls to be made at certain times of the year from snook, tommy ruffs, King George whiting, flathead, snapper and squid.