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St Francis Bay Fishing & Solunar Times

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54 /100 ★★☆☆☆ slow

2.0h off the turn — strongest push; 1.1m — working the gullies nicely; rising fast (+2.4 hPa/6h) — post-front.

Why the bite reads slow right now
🌊Tide flow+12
2.0h off the turn — strongest push
〰️Swell+8
1.1m — working the gullies nicely
🔻Pressure-8
rising fast (+2.4 hPa/6h) — post-front
🌅Light-4
bright midday sun — fish sitting deep
🌡️Water temp+3
16.4°C — in the productive band
↕️Tide direction+2
pushing in
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 between bite windows 0
Moon phase mid-cycle +1
Tide flow 2.0h off the turn — strongest push +12
Tide direction pushing in +2
Wind 25 km/h cross-shore, fresh 0
Swell 1.1m — working the gullies nicely +8
Pressure rising fast (+2.4 hPa/6h) — post-front -8
Light bright midday sun — fish sitting deep -4
Water temp 16.4°C — in the productive band +3
Total 54

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
Slow going — work for it. A strong pushing tide is moving food around. A 1.1m swell is working the gullies. The barometer’s climbing hard after a front, which can shut them down. Today’s pick: Garrick on live bait or spinning spoons. Best window today around 21:45.
📉 Barometric trigger
101210191026now12h ago+12h
Rising hard after a front — can shut them down, climbing next 6h.
Last 6h +2.4 hPa · next 6h +3.3 hPa · live from Open-Meteo.
St Francis Bay bite mission card
Save or screenshot, then send it to your crew on WhatsApp.

Tide: rising, 2.0h from the turn (next high 14:12)

Moon: Waxing Gibbous (89% lit)

Major bite: 20:45–22:45 · 09:10–11:10

Minor bite: 14:47–16:17 · 03:13–04:43

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 (0/100)02:00 — Quiet (0/100)03:00 — Quiet (19/100)04:00 — Quiet (17/100)05:00 — Quiet (7/100)06:00 — Quiet (14/100)07:00 — Quiet (13/100)08:00 — Quiet (20/100)09:00 — Fair — worth a cast (37/100)10:00 — Good — bite building (46/100)11:00 — Quiet (18/100)12:00 — Quiet (0/100)13:00 — Quiet (9/100)14:00 — Quiet (20/100)15:00 — Fair — worth a cast (29/100)16:00 — Quiet (7/100)17:00 — Quiet (1/100)18:00 — Quiet (19/100)19:00 — Quiet (6/100)20:00 — Fair — worth a cast (38/100)21:00 — Good — bite building (50/100)22:00 — Fair — worth a cast (35/100)23:00 — Quiet (7/100)LHLnow00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00
prime   good   fair   quiet   dawn/dusk   H/L = tide · tap an hour for detail

🌊 Today's tide

00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00L 07:56H 14:12L 20:21now

⚖️ What you may legally keep here

Species Min size Bag limit Closed season
Cape stumpnose 20 cm 5/day none
Garrick / Leervis 70 cm 2/day none
Kob / Kabeljou (dusky kob) — shore & estuary, east of Cape Agulhas 60 cm 1/day none
Shad / Elf 30 cm 4/day 01 Oct - 30 Nov
Spotted grunter (tiger) 40 cm 5/day none
White steenbras (pignose grunter) 60 cm 1/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 St Francis Bay now (September)

In season: Cape Stumpnose, Garrick, Kob

Cape Stumpnose
Garrick
Kob

Today’s pick: Garrick — Garrick are running — work spoons or live bait along the backline. Try live bait or spinning spoons.

🎣 Target now — tap a species

📅 When each fish runs at St Francis Bay

SpeciesJFMAMJJASOND
Grunter
White Steenbras
Cape Stumpnose
Garrick
Shad
×
×
Kob

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 St Francis Bay

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

🏞️ Kromme River — estuary

💡 Top tip

“St Francis Bay offers anglers the Kromme River estuary and canals on one side and the open ocean beach and river mouth on the other, giving both sheltered estuary fishing and surf options.”

Across the whole spot

Tide: pushing tide

Baits that work here: live bait, prawn, shad

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 06:07 · Sunset 18:18 · Peak UV 6

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 Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:13 SAST.

Aerial map — St Francis Bay

Crayonised aerial map of St Francis Bay
Beach
Casting 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.

About St Francis Bay — Fishing Local Knowledge

St Francis Bay offers anglers the Kromme River estuary and canals on one side and the open ocean beach and river mouth on the other, giving both sheltered estuary fishing and surf options.

The Kromme estuary is known for spotted grunter, leervis (garrick), kob and Cape stumpnose, worked with prawn and live bait around the tide changes, while the beach and river mouth produce kob, garrick, shad and white steenbras. Fish the incoming tide and the low-light hours for the bigger predators. Parts of the estuary carry catch and no-take rules, so check the current regulations, permits and bag limits before fishing or keeping fish.

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