When to Fish: Tides, Moon, Barometer and Wind Explained

Tide and weather facts checked against the Bureau of Meteorology and the Australian Hydrographic Office on 31 October 2026. The species timing below is general angling know-how, not a promise. Fish don’t read guides.

G’day. When we asked fishos what they wanted to know in the 2026 Angler Census, timing came up again and again. About one in seven questions was some version of “when should I go?”: tides, the moon, the barometer, wind, water temperature, and how all that changes from flathead to snapper. So here it is in plain English, with a free cheat sheet you can stick on the fridge.

On this page:

• Tide stage and flow
• Moon phase
• Barometer
• Wind
• Light
• Water temperature
• Timing by species
• Estuary, beach or offshore
• No bites? Timing checklist
• Free Tide Window Cheat Sheet
• Tides for your spot

Safety first: check the BOM warnings before you go. In an emergency call 000. No fish is worth a bad day on the water.

Tide stage and flow: the big one

Tides go up and down, but for fishing what really counts is the water moving sideways. The Bureau of Meteorology calls the incoming flow the flood (the run-in), the outgoing flow the ebb (the run-out), and the quiet bit in between slack water, when there’s little or no flow.

At most places it takes about six hours to go from low tide to high tide, says the BOM, but in some places it can take about 12 hours. That’s why you’ll hear fishos talk about the “first of the run-in” or the “last two hours of the run-out”. They’re picking which part of that cycle to be on the water.

• Run-out (ebb): drains the flats and creeks and pulls bait out with it. Predators like flathead sit at the drop-offs and drain mouths waiting for it.
• Run-in (flood): pushes clean water and fish up onto the flats, banks and beach gutters. Whiting and bream follow it in to feed.
• The change (slack): in deep holes and strong-current spots, the slower water around the change is often the only time you can hold bottom. That’s mulloway and deep snapper time.

Use the right tide station. Tide times shift as you move up a river or around a bay. The official tide tables give times for standard ports, plus time differences for other spots nearby. Always use the station closest to where you’re actually fishing. Every Fishing Australia spot guide shows the tides for that spot.

After rain, the run-out runs longer. The Australian Hydrographic Office notes that river flow usually makes the ebb longer and the flood shorter. After a big downpour, expect a longer, dirtier run-out in rivers and estuaries.

Moon phase: it’s really about tide size

The BOM explains that tide forces are stronger when the moon, sun and Earth line up, at the new moon and full moon. In most places the biggest tides, called spring tides, come within a few days of those moon phases. (Nothing to do with the season. “Spring” here means springing forth.) Around the quarter moons you get neap tides, with a smaller range than average.

What this means on the water:

• Spring tides give you stronger currents (the BOM says tidal currents are usually stronger during spring tides) and bigger water movement. That’s great for getting fish on the chew in estuaries and on the flats, but it can make deep water and offshore drifts hard to fish.
• Neap tides are gentler. They’re easier to fish in deep holes and offshore, but the flats may not flush as much.

Plenty of anglers swear by the nights around the new and full moon for mulloway and other big fish. That’s fishing folklore rather than proven science, but the bigger tides around those moons are real, so it’s worth a go.

Barometer: what it does and doesn’t tell you

Here’s the bit that’s proven: air pressure changes the water level. The BOM says lower barometric pressure tends to raise the sea level and higher pressure pushes it down. The Hydrographic Office puts a number on it: each 1 hPa rise in pressure lowers the sea about 1 cm. So a big high or a deep low can make the tide come in higher or lower than the tide table says.

What it does to the fish is less clear-cut. Lots of fishos reckon fish go quiet when the pressure drops hard before a front and bite better once it settles. That’s angler experience, not a hard rule. Use the barometer as a tie-breaker. Tide and light still matter more. Strike Club shows the pressure trend for your spot next to the tides, so you can see how they line up.

Wind

The BOM says winds over coastal waters can change tide heights quite a lot. A strong onshore wind can stack water up, and an offshore wind can hold it back.

• Beaches: a bit of onshore breeze stirs up whitewater and gets tailor and whiting feeding in the gutters. Too much and it’s unfishable.
• Bays and estuaries: wind against the tide stands the water up and gets rough fast. Pick sheltered banks on windy days.
• Offshore: wind decides whether you go at all. Check the BOM marine forecast and warnings, and if in doubt, stay home.

Light

Dawn and dusk are prime time for most species. Bait moves, predators get bold, and the glare is off the water. Bright, glassy middays are the hardest time to fish shallow water, so on those days go deeper, fish shady structure, or plan around a tide change instead. Some fish, like mulloway, bream and squid, also fish well at night.

Water temperature

Water temperature sets the season. It decides which fish are in your area and how hard they feed. Warm-water fish like mackerel turn up when the water warms, and cooler-water fish move in as it cools. A sudden cold change, or a flush of cold, fresh water after heavy rain, can shut the bite down for a few days. If the water’s just dropped, slow down your lures and fish deeper.

Timing by species (plain-English table)

This is general guidance that works for most fishos most of the time. Local knowledge always wins, so ask at your local tackle shop too.

Before you keep anything, check the size and bag limits and closed seasons. In Queensland, use our Can I Keep It? checker. Elsewhere, check your state fisheries agency (links at the bottom of this page).

Estuary, beach or offshore?

Estuaries and big rivers

The run-out is the classic estuary window. Bait gets pulled off the flats and out of the creeks, and flathead, bream and mulloway sit at the edges and drop-offs to meet it. The first of the run-in is good too, as fish push back up onto the flats.

Big estuaries like the Hawkesbury: in a big river system, tide times upstream can differ a fair bit from the tide at the mouth, so use the tide station nearest your spot, not the one at the mouth. A good rule of thumb is to fish the deep holes and bridges around the change for mulloway, and the run-out along the drop-offs for flathead. See our Hawkesbury River guide for the local tides and spots.

Beaches

On the beach, the run-in pushes water into the gutters and gets tailor, whiting and bream feeding. Low tide is a great time to walk the beach and spot the gutters, holes and banks you’ll fish when the water comes back.

Bays and offshore

Out wider, current matters more than tide height. You want a steady, gentle run that keeps bait moving, not a raging current that sweeps your rig off the bottom. Reefs, beacons and ledges fish best when the current is running over them.

Moreton Bay and Bribie Island: for snapper on the bay reefs, dawn on a tide change is hard to beat. For mackerel, look for bait schools around the beacons and reef edges while the tide’s running, mostly in the warmer months. Check the Bribie Island and Redcliffe Peninsula guides for tides on the day, and the Moreton Bay fishing report for what’s biting. Moreton Bay Marine Park has green zones where you can’t fish at all, so check the zoning before you drop a line.

No bites? Run the timing checklist

Before you blame the bait, run through this list:

• Is the water moving where I’m fishing? Dead slack in a shallow spot is often dead quiet.
• Did I miss the change? Check the tide time for the station nearest you, not the nearest big port.
• Is it bright and glassy? Wait for low light, fish shade and structure, or go deeper.
• Has the water dropped or gone dirty after rain? Move further out towards cleaner water.
• Is the wind against the tide? Find a sheltered bank and fish the lee side.
• Is the moon giving big tides? In deep water, try the slower part of the tide or step up your sinker.
• Am I where the bait is? No bait, no fish. Look for birds, nervous water and bait on the sounder.
• Is it the right season for this fish? Check the local fishing report for what’s actually biting.

Still scratching your head? Ask Grant. Send him where you fished, when, and what you were chasing.

Tides and bite scores for your spot

Every Fishing Australia spot guide has a live panel at the top with the tides, the weather and a bite score for that spot. A few popular ones:

• Redcliffe Peninsula, QLD
• Bribie Island, QLD
• Caloundra and Pumicestone Passage, QLD
• Southern Moreton Bay Islands, QLD
• Gold Coast Seaway, QLD
• Hawkesbury River, NSW

For what’s actually biting this week, see the weekly fishing reports. Official tide predictions come from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Rules check before you keep a fish

Size limits, bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones change, and they’re different in every state. Check the official source before you keep anything:

• Queensland: Can I Keep It? or Queensland fishing rules
• New South Wales: NSW fishing rules
• Victoria: Victorian Fisheries Authority
• Other states and the NT: check your state or territory fisheries agency.

Sources

• Bureau of Meteorology, Tides and sea level: spring and neap tides, flood and ebb streams, slack water, the roughly six-hour rise, weather and pressure effects on tide height, and stronger currents on spring tides. Checked 31 October 2026.
• Australian Hydrographic Office, Tidal Glossary: the inverted barometer effect (1 hPa is about 1 cm), river flow lengthening the ebb, and tide differences for secondary ports. Checked 31 October 2026.
• Census figures: Fishing Australia 2026 Angler Census (our own survey).
• Species timing: general angling guidance from Fishing Australia. It isn’t a scientific study.