plankton

There are some campsites you need to book ahead of time and there are others along the back of the beach that are first in. Either way you need to pay online before you go. You should be able to find everything you need here.
https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Limestone_Coast/coorong-national-park

Good advice mentioned above. Personally I never did very well squiding from metro jetties, and you're not going to get many squid off sandy bottom. Make sure your jag is getting down into the weed. If you want to stay local and catch heaps of squid my best advice would be get yourself a kayak.

Good advice mentioned above. Personally I never did very well squiding from metro jetties, and you're not going to get many squid off sandy bottom. Make sure your jag is getting down into the weed. If you want to stay local and catch heaps of squid my best advice would be get yourself a kayak.

I prefer overheads for most things above 10-12lb. I find they are better at casting, managing your line and keeping in touch with your bait. They are also better when fighting larger fish and usually smaller and lighter than spinning reels with comparable line capacity. Many people shy away from them because they don't want to take the time to learn how to use them. But everyone is free to make their own tackle choices.🙂

I fished the Onk for a couple years before I got my first mully from there. Warmer months are better, and you're correct about fishing around the tide change. Just keep at it, they'll come eventually.

I fished the Onk for a couple years before I got my first mully from there. Warmer months are better, and you're correct about fishing around the tide change. Just keep at it, they'll come eventually.

Any one who fishes a decent amount, especially in the saltwater, should know how to maintain their reels. Breaking down a reel to clean and service it is not very difficult, and it's why reels usually come with an exploded diagram.
Anything you might need to know about reel maintenance can be found here.  https://alantani.com/

There are some campsites you need to book ahead of time and there are others along the back of the beach that are first in. Either way you need to pay online before you go. You should be able to find everything you need here.
https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Limestone_Coast/coorong-national-park

I am a health care worker and amateur prepper, so I'll share some of my thoughts. At this stage the restriction is only travelling interstate. Social distancing is easier out of the city and the fishing is better but there are a few down sides I can think about.
 
If you do go, some of the things to think about are
How is your health? Are you in a high risk group due to medical issues or age? Medical resources thin out rapidly when you get out of Metro Adelaide. While community transmission of Covid is low in SA, things are changing rapidly day to day and week to week. Also as the outbreak continues, local country hospitals will rapidly be overwhelmed and may not be able to assist you. Have you got any contacts in the West Coast that you could stay with or could help you if things get bad? Do you have any family or friends that need assistance back in Adelaide. If you were stuck somewhere are unable to get back to Adelaide, would this be an issue. I see you are reasonably self sufficient already. How much food, water and fuel do you carry and how far could you travel if suddenly things were locked down or if fuel supplies got interrupted? Would you be able to get back to Adelaide if fuel was short? How good is your phone and internet network? I had trouble calling my parents today on the mobile network. They are in Melbourne and I got a prerecorded message from telstra saying that the network was having issues. Have you got any other means of communication is mobile communication and internet go down?  
 
 
Likely hood of full lockdown is low at the moment but this is what you want to be keeping an eye on
https://www.health.gov.au/news/australian-health-protection-principal-committee-ahppc-coronavirus-covid-19-statement-on-22-march-2020
The AHPPC advise the government on public health measures. They have already spelt out their trigger for full lockdown and this will be the thing to watch
 
 
 
Or maybe I am overthinking this and we should all go fishing...
 

I find reports to be pretty useless anyway. They always say the same thing depending on the season. In winter there's salmon at Waitpinga and any Southern Metro beach, in summer there's bream and mulloway at West Lakes and the Onk, etc. Anyone who spends much time fishing knows these things already, and fish tend to move around.

I find reports to be pretty useless anyway. They always say the same thing depending on the season. In winter there's salmon at Waitpinga and any Southern Metro beach, in summer there's bream and mulloway at West Lakes and the Onk, etc. Anyone who spends much time fishing knows these things already, and fish tend to move around.

Usually the Abu 5500 size doesn't have a ratchet, but all the 6500's will.
Although for livebaiting I would also strongly recommend the Penn Squall 12 which is about the same size as the Abu but comes with magnetic braking which can be quite handy when casting lighter livebaits. It also does away with the levelwind which is unnecessary on a bait reel IMO.
Both reels are excellent casters and have smooth, reliable drag systems. You can't go wrong either way!

I'm unfamiliar with that rod, but if you're looking for a reel of similar size and function to the Calcutta then it's hard to beat an Abu Ambassadeur. Depending on what line capacity you need, either a 5500 or 6500.
If you need a reel that is considerably different to the Calcutta then we would need more info about what you want.

If your reel's gears get damaged winding on line under tension then it's a piece of crap. 😉

When you put mono on a reel you don't want to put any stretch in the line. Just using your fingers is enough to get it on firmly but not overly tight.
Braid should be put on the reel with as much tension as possible. It has no stretch and getting it on tightly will eliminate lots of issues. I use the phone book method.
Find a phone book (I've got one I kept just for this job). Set the drag on the reel pretty high. Run the line through the middle on the book and put weight on top until the rod bends under the pressure of winding. I use boxes of jigs usually. Obviously the amount of weight needed will vary depending on the outfit and line strength.

OH MY GOD go fishing ….?

If your reel's gears get damaged winding on line under tension then it's a piece of crap. 😉

When you put mono on a reel you don't want to put any stretch in the line. Just using your fingers is enough to get it on firmly but not overly tight.
Braid should be put on the reel with as much tension as possible. It has no stretch and getting it on tightly will eliminate lots of issues. I use the phone book method.
Find a phone book (I've got one I kept just for this job). Set the drag on the reel pretty high. Run the line through the middle on the book and put weight on top until the rod bends under the pressure of winding. I use boxes of jigs usually. Obviously the amount of weight needed will vary depending on the outfit and line strength.

I use digital luggage scales to set mine - then just dont touch the dial for that session.

After a while - you get to know what certain drag settings feel like with different braids - You just pull line off the spool against the drag - I know I've gone too far if my fingers start bleeding

Mulloway numbers have declined, that's why they increased the size limit to 82cm a couple of years ago. 
Long story short myself and S&H Tony B were invited by FRDC to attend a full day fisheries seminar/course around 4 years ago, that was being run in every state, anyway Professor Mehdi Doroudi (Executive Director Of Fisheries and Aquaculture; at that time) attended also and give him his dues he allowed us to ask him questions (one on one) during the lunch break and I asked him why doesn't the size limit of Mulloway down the Coorong meet their own requirements, 
 
Size limits
There are minimum and maximum legal size limits for some fish species that are caught with rod and line or other permitted devices.
Size limits let fish:
reach maturity complete their breeding cycle contribute to sustainable fish stocks. Fish taken for use as bait must still meet size limits.
 
which he had no answer too but agreed at 46cm the Mulloway are not mature and he would email me a response after he further investigated it. I never got a reply so I emailed him and got some vague answer that had nothing to do with the direct question. 
I'm not having ago at those who fish there and keep any legal fish but find it strange that in a known nursery PIRSA set a ridiculous size limit imho.
Steve

I completely agree with this.
There's plenty of bream in those places, so not much sense in a stocking program.
A mulloway stocking program would get my attention. Better yet, effective management of mulloway in the Coorong, giving them a chance to replenish themselves naturally, would be even more interesting.

I completely agree with this.
There's plenty of bream in those places, so not much sense in a stocking program.
A mulloway stocking program would get my attention. Better yet, effective management of mulloway in the Coorong, giving them a chance to replenish themselves naturally, would be even more interesting.

I completely agree with this.
There's plenty of bream in those places, so not much sense in a stocking program.
A mulloway stocking program would get my attention. Better yet, effective management of mulloway in the Coorong, giving them a chance to replenish themselves naturally, would be even more interesting.

I completely agree with this.
There's plenty of bream in those places, so not much sense in a stocking program.
A mulloway stocking program would get my attention. Better yet, effective management of mulloway in the Coorong, giving them a chance to replenish themselves naturally, would be even more interesting.

I completely agree with this.
There's plenty of bream in those places, so not much sense in a stocking program.
A mulloway stocking program would get my attention. Better yet, effective management of mulloway in the Coorong, giving them a chance to replenish themselves naturally, would be even more interesting.