We look at the best time & month to fish in Singapore.
One of the most commonly asked question from many of you are; when is the best time to fish in Singapore? Simply within the question, we will address the best time, months and even the physical geographical attributes (weather/wind/tidal) conditions in Singapore.
- By Month
- By Time of the day
- By physical geographical attributes.
1. By Month
January ; Low Fishing Season
January is right in the middle of Singapore’s monsoon season. This means HUGE amount of rain. Most charters are not fishing the regional waters, but you will still find excellent night fishing trips in the Southern Islands.
February : CNY Makes it Harder to Get Boat Charters
Everyone is excited about Chinese New Year celebrations. Fish prices gets expensive due to CNY celebrations and anglers will try to catch them via boat charters, jetty or fishing pond. Unfortunately, charters around this time will cost you more as not many boat captains use this period to spend time with their families on land. But if you can pull a charter guide away from their friends and family, expect lots of Snappers and Groupers, and you may get a Mackerel, too.
March : Start of Fishing Season
March means Spring and Spring means start of fishing Season. The northeast monsoon season is over, so expect consistent warm temperatures matched with red hot fishing. Look for Mackerel, Grouper, Snappers, and more! The 1 week school holiday in March also means you get to see a more young anglers competing for fishing resources.
April : Fish On! Excellent Fishing
The fishing is on top form, with Mackerel, Barracuda, Grouper, Parrot Fish, Coral Trout, and many more over reefs and wrecks. Giant Trevally, Queenfish, and Barramundi are also brightening up the day.
May : Fasting Month for Muslims.
Expect difficulty finding Muslim Boatman. The excellent fishing continues. This is also one of the best times to catch Barramundi.
Plus you get to show off your skills at the Raffles Marina Fishing Competition! Raffles Marina hosts fishing competitions twice per year, tentatively in May and November.
For 2022, Raffles Marina has a RM Family Day Breakwater Fishing Competition which is going to be held on Sunday 15 May 2022. Below are the details you can find in the page. Good Luck!
June : Fish On But Weather is Hottest Here
As always, the weather is hot in Singapore. Don’t let that put you off, though, as the dozen are catching Golden Snapper and Barramundi. Get your catch cooked at a floating restaurant and enjoy your time by the cooling water.
July : Fish Bite Everywhere
Expect a diverse bite around the Southern Islands at this time of year. Coral Trout, Groupers, Snappers, Sweetlips, Perch, Bream, Parrotfish, and Trevallies are all on the chew. Can’t decide what to target? Many feel the same!
Picture retrieved from Raffles Marina's Facebook page, Album Raffles Marina Boat Fishing Competition Nov 2021, anglers showing their catches.
December
Monsoon + Sagai Season
The perfect storm. This is the month where you get strong North winds but also one of the best month for Sagai (Trevally) a.k.a Ajing Fishing. If this doesn’t stop you from heading out, expect to find Spanish Flag Snappers and Coral Trout. Sagais (Trevally) are also biting well. Sagai can also be caught from two popular jetty in Singapore (Bedok Jetty & Labrador Park Jetty).
2. By Time of the day. Eg. morning, evening & night
The time of day that is recommended to fish is during sunrise (8 am - 11 am) and sunset (4 pm - 7 pm), as fish are most active around the water's surface at this time. This is because the sun has not risen fully - which leads to a lower temperature in water which fish prefer as compared to the warm surface water in the noontime. This is also known as ‘Solunar’.
The table below shows the direct comparison of the fishing conditions for the respective timing.
|
Time of the day |
Fishing Condition |
|
Early Morning
|
Fish forecast : Excellent Fishing is excellent just before sunrise to just before mid-morning (normally between 6am to 8am). At this time of the day there is abundant food and cover for fish, so finding hungry fish can be a challenge. Also, there is a higher chance for a small-medium fish as compared to a large fish. |
|
Mid-Morning to afternoon
|
Fish forecast : Poor |
|
Sunset to Early Evening
|
Fish forecast : Excellent |
|
Night Fishing (9.00pm - 5.00am) |
Fish forecast : Excellent Fishing at night is good if you want to catch larger fish. Big fish prefer to hide during the day as there is usually a large amount of surface activity. Therefore, they hunt for their prey at night, when the surface is calm. This means that fishing at night will give you the advantage of catching a large fish instead of a small-medium size fish. When fishing at night, it is recommended to use bait such as tamban or squid. |
3. By Weather (sun, wind, and rain conditions).
The temperature directly impacts the fish's activity level since they have to keep their body temperature constant. Therefore, the current weather in Singapore plays a crucial role.
Is it okay to fish in the rain?
It is not advised to fish during heavy rain, but light precipitation is suitable to fish in. When you know that a storm is incoming, it is best to fish right before the storm, specifically before the cold front hits or when light rain drizzles. This is because the water temperature is still within the suitable range for the fish and has an optimal pressure. Furthermore, the waves increase the water movement of the food on the surface of the water (such as insects), increasing fish activity.
If the storm has arrived, it is best to wait until the rain subsides. Heavy rain discourages fish activity as there will be less visibility in the water.
Despite so, cloudy skies condition is also a wonderful time to fish due to the sun being more covered than usual sunny days. This means that the water temperature is cooler, where fish will be more active as their body temperature is constant.
Not only do you have to watch out for the rain, but another thing to look out for would also be lightning. As our rods generally have a high concentration of carbon, we must look out as they are great electrical conductors.
4. By Tide
For tidal conditions, I would recommend a time during the tide change, whether it be from low-high or high-low (incoming and outgoing tide). When the tide changes, the fish will be more active as they move along with the tide changes. However, some anglers prefer to fish in low tide. With more experience, you will soon find fishing spots with good fish activity.
Depending on the type of fish you are trying to catch, they generally like different current speeds. For example, most pelagic species like a much faster presence, which means you will want to look out for the days with a higher variance between the trough of the tides.
Apart from the weather condition which are slightly predictable without the use of technology, the specific coastal conditions can be found in the link below. These include geographical factors such as weather, water temperature, swell, tidal heights, tidal coefficient, and tide table. Additionally, the link provides solunar information such as moon rising/setting, solunar activity, moon phase and astronomical observation. This site is a go-to site where every information is available readily whenever one checks for the attributes before heading down to fish.
https://tides4fishing.com/as/singapore/singapur
A sample of how the page is like:
Another similar link that provides concurrent coastal conditions:
https://www.fishingreminder.com/SG/charts/fishing_times/Singapore
Now get all your stuff and you are ready to go!
Happy Fishing!