Brighton Jetty is perhaps Adelaide’s best metro fishing jetty.
The author was present when six snapper over 20 pounds were caught off the end at night during a spring storm.
It was not the only time large snapper were caught there, the author caught the fish pictured above around 1980.
Snapper are off the menu now but there are other fish to be caught, including squid, tommy ruffs, garfish, gummy sharks and rays.
There is a summer run of blue crabs and a separate run of two-spot sand crabs in April/May. Both can be caught with drop nets.
Some king george whiting are caught in winter, usually from the end of the jetty in rough weather.
Most reliable are calamari squid, which can be caught all year whenever the water is clear by floating out a baited squid jig at dusk or dawn, or casting an artificial squid jig.
Gummy sharks, eagle and smooth rays are found around Adelaide’s jetties, as are Port Jackson sharks and fiddler rays.
Note that there are special rules for fishing for sharks and rays in South Australia.
Elephant fish also show up on occasion, as do yelloweye mullet (autumn-winter) in the shallows.
Adelaide’s other metro jetties are Glenelg, Henley, Semaphore and Largs Bay.
Some more landbased spots to try around Adelaide include North Haven, the productive Port River estuary and its sea entrance Outer Harbour, and West Lakes, a reclaimed marsh that is now a saltwater canal estate and a great spot to target large black bream.
Register and leave a comment and/or photo about your Brighton jetty fishing experience.
Here is a list of recommended tackle for SA waters.
Here is the SA seasonal fishing calendar for various fish species.
Adelaide (Outer Harbour) tides
West Beach webcam
SA fishing regulations
SA marine parks
SA stocked dams
SA dam water levels
Murray River fishing spots
NOTE: Special snapper rules apply in South Australia – more info here.
Email us any corrections, additions, pictures or video here.
