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Hout Bay Fishing & Solunar Times

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81 /100 ★★★★☆ good

Inside the major bite window; 1.3h off the turn — strongest push; falling fast (-2.8 hPa/6h) — front coming.

Why the bite reads good right now
🌙Solunar+14
inside the major bite window
🌊Tide flow+12
1.3h off the turn — strongest push
🔻Pressure+10
falling fast (-2.8 hPa/6h) — front coming
🌘Moon phase+4
building toward springs
🌅Light-4
bright midday sun — fish sitting deep
🌡️Water temp+3
16.1°C — in the productive band
Bars are the live points each factor added to (green) or took off (red) today’s score. Full breakdown below.
Show how this score is worked out
Baseline an average day on an average tide +40
Solunar inside the major bite window +14
Moon phase building toward springs +4
Tide flow 1.3h off the turn — strongest push +12
Tide direction pushing in +2
Wind 14 km/h onshore, light -1
Swell 2.0m — big, fish the sheltered corners +1
Pressure falling fast (-2.8 hPa/6h) — front coming +10
Light bright midday sun — fish sitting deep -4
Water temp 16.1°C — in the productive band +3
Total 81

Every factor above is live data for this spot. Solunar and the weightings are an informed guide, not a guarantee — the sea gets a vote.

📖 Today’s story
Worth the trip. A strong pushing tide is moving food around. A falling glass ahead of a change is a classic trigger. Today’s pick: Blacktail on redbait, prawn or worm. Best window today around 14:32.
📉 Barometric trigger
101410191023now12h ago+12h
Falling fast — a front is coming, prime feeding trigger.
Last 6h -2.8 hPa · next 6h -0.5 hPa · live from Open-Meteo.
Hout Bay bite mission card
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Tide: rising, 1.3h from the turn (next high 16:34)

Moon: Waxing Crescent (5% lit)

Major bite: 13:32–15:32 · 01:57–03:57

Minor bite: 07:34–09:04 · 20:00–21:30

Strongest near dawn/dusk or a tide change. Nearest tides →

🐟 Best fishing times today

🎣 Reading today’s bite…
00:00 — Quiet (0/100)01:00 — Quiet (15/100)02:00 — Fair — worth a cast (42/100)03:00 — Good — near the tide change (45/100)04:00 — Fair — worth a cast (31/100)05:00 — Quiet (10/100)06:00 — Quiet (13/100)07:00 — Quiet (10/100)08:00 — Fair — worth a cast (26/100)09:00 — Quiet (8/100)10:00 — Quiet (18/100)11:00 — Quiet (2/100)12:00 — Quiet (0/100)13:00 — Fair — worth a cast (26/100)14:00 — Good — bite building (54/100)15:00 — Fair — worth a cast (31/100)16:00 — Quiet (20/100)17:00 — Quiet (5/100)18:00 — Quiet (11/100)19:00 — Quiet (10/100)20:00 — Fair — worth a cast (24/100)21:00 — Quiet (12/100)22:00 — Quiet (16/100)23:00 — Quiet (8/100)HLHLnow00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00
■ prime   ■ good   ■ fair   ■ quiet   ■ dawn/dusk   H/L = tide · tap an hour for detail

🌊 Today's tide

00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00H 04:25L 10:21H 16:34L 22:44now

⚖️ What you may legally keep here

Species Min size Bag limit Closed season
Blacktail (dassie) 20 cm 5/day none
Galjoen 35 cm 2/day 15 Oct - last day of February
Geelbek (Cape salmon) 60 cm 2/day none
Hottentot 22 cm 10/day none
Kob / Kabeljou (dusky kob) — west of Cape Agulhas 50 cm 5/day none
Longfin tuna / albacore — 10/day none
Snoek (Cape snoek) 60 cm 10/day none
Yellowfin tuna — 10/day none
Yellowtail (Cape yellowtail) — 10/day none

A recreational fishing permit is required (available at the Post Office). Over and above the per-species limits above, Reg. 22(7)(f) prohibits keeping more than ten fish in total per day irrespective of species (except species with no bag limit, or a bag limit above ten). Sizes are measured snout to tail tip.

Source: Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 — Regulations (GN R1111), Annexure 7 (Regulation 22). Limits shown only for species named in this spot's notes; where a common name covers more than one species (stumpnose, musselcracker) every applicable limit is listed. Regulations change — verify with DFFE before keeping any fish.

🐟 What’s biting at Hout Bay now (October)

In season: Blacktail, Hottentot

Blacktail
Hottentot

Today’s pick: Blacktail — Blacktail are in season. Try redbait, prawn or worm.

🎣 Target now — tap a species

📅 When each fish runs at Hout Bay

SpeciesJFMAMJJASOND
Snoek
Kob
Galjoen
×
Blacktail
Hottentot
Geelbek

peak run   off-season   closed (protected)   • ring = this month. General SA run seasons.

Run seasons are a general SA guide; the sea gets a vote. Always check current bag & size limits.

🎣 Where to fish Hout Bay

The marks our local knowledge describes for this spot — what the structure is, what holds there and how it is fished.

⚓ Harbour

Holds: Snoek

💡 Top tip

“Hout Bay is a busy working fishing harbour, the base for much of the Peninsula's linefishing and the traditional home of the Cape snoek fleet.”

🪨 Rocks

Holds: Kob, Galjoen, Blacktail, Hottentot, Snoek, Geelbek, Yellowtail, Longfin Tuna

💡 Top tip

“Boat anglers off Hout Bay chase snoek, yellowtail, geelbek (Cape salmon) and, further out, longfin and other tuna over the deeper Atlantic grounds, while shore anglers work the rocks for hottentot, galjoen (protected and seasonal, so check current regulations), blacktail and kob.”

Across the whole spot

Baits that work here: chokka, red bait, sardine

Marks are drawn from our own local knowledge for this spot — each one shows the sentence it came from. They are descriptions, not survey positions: we do not publish a cast coordinate we cannot stand behind. Rock and ledge angling is dangerous in big swell — check the conditions above and never fish a ledge alone.

☀️ Sun & skin — out on the water all day

Sunrise 06:06 · Sunset 18:59 · Peak UV 8

Surfers & anglers get the highest UV dose of anyone. Recommended: SPF 50+, reapply every 2 hours and after every session.

Shop SPF 50+ sunscreen →

Surf/wave: Open-Meteo Marine. Sun/UV/pressure: Open-Meteo. Tides: Stormglass model. Solunar is an approximate guide. Generated Tue, 13 Oct 2026 15:13 SAST.

Aerial map — Hout Bay

Crayonised aerial map of Hout Bay
Harbour
Beach
Deep hole / gullyCasting spot

Hand-styled from NGI 0.25 m national aerial. Markers show productive marks & casting spots — indicative local knowledge, not live conditions or navigation advice; tides, banks, rips & hazards change, so use your own eyes on the day.

🎣 Cast Coach: the dashed arc suggests a cast from the beat toward the nearest deep water / structure — adjust for the tide on the day.

About Hout Bay — Fishing Local Knowledge

Hout Bay is a busy working fishing harbour, the base for much of the Peninsula's linefishing and the traditional home of the Cape snoek fleet.

Boat anglers off Hout Bay chase snoek, yellowtail, geelbek (Cape salmon) and, further out, longfin and other tuna over the deeper Atlantic grounds, while shore anglers work the rocks for hottentot, galjoen (protected and seasonal, so check current regulations), blacktail and kob. Chokka, sardine and red bait are the mainstay baits, and snoek are taken on handline traces with sardine. West Coast rock lobster is a well-known local resource with strict permit and season rules. Cold water and slippery, surge-washed rocks call for caution.

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