Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing, in the upper river west of Katherine: barramundi and sooty grunter in clear dry-season water, with a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
2.06 m
Air / High
30 °C / 36 °C
Wind
E 12 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge G8140067, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. The gauge reads 2.06 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 36 °C. Water sits around 26 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 34 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Northern Territory has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. Northern Territory fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing barramundi here? Check the size and bag limits with NT Fisheries before you keep anything; the Barramundi page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:31), sunset (18:39), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station G8140067 (Daly River - U/S Dorisvale Xng).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station G8140067. Latest reading 2026-09-24 03:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp30 °C
High / Low36 °C / 22 °C
WindE 12 km/h, gusts 20 km/h
Pressure1015.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain23% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset06:31 / 18:39
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing
The best day on Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Saturday, 26 Sept — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 25 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:31 to 18:39
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 6%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Barramundi
Run-off (March to May) and build-up (October to November) in the north; check the closed season on the Queensland east coast
The north's fish. Tidal rivers, run-off creeks, rock bars and the stocked impoundments. Warm water, moving water and a barometer on the way down. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
When to come: the Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Barramundi
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 26 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 36 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 36 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 36 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Northern Territory has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by NT Fisheries and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Northern Territory licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The Northern Territory has no recreational fishing licence; the Daly’s possession limits and closed areas and any land access rules apply, on the pages linked below..
About this water
Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing is a river in Northern Territory, Australia, covered from the Northern Territory reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing: the full guide
The Daly above Dorisvale Crossing
Dorisvale Crossing is on the upper Daly west of Katherine, where the river, formed from the Katherine and the Flora, runs clearer and narrower through the dry season, over rock bars and between pandanus, far above the tidal reaches at Nauiyu. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge above the crossing supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Daly at Nauiyu and the Flora River have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Barramundi hold in the pools and snags of the upper Daly, and sooty grunter are the everyday fish of the runs, on lures; catfish are also caught. The Northern Territory has no general closed season for barramundi; the possession limits and closed areas NT Fisheries publishes for the Daly apply.
Where to fish it
The crossing is the access point in the dry season, and a small boat or a kayak reaches the pools. Crocodiles can be present in the upper Daly: take care near the water.
Planning a visit
Katherine is the nearest town with supplies; the crossing is reached on unsealed roads and is impassable in the wet. Carry water and fuel.
The river through the year
The Daly begins where the Katherine and the Flora meet, and above Dorisvale it carries their dry-season flow, much of it from springs, so it keeps running clear through the dry. Through the wet, roughly November to April, it rises fast and can run high for weeks; in the run-off after the rains the barramundi move upstream and feed. Through the dry, from about May to October, the river is lower, clearer and steady, and the sooty grunter feed in the runs. Below Dorisvale the Daly runs on for hundreds of kilometres to Nauiyu and the tidal river.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the upper Daly’s dry-season flow and the wet-season rise. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm all year; pressure and sky build the score at Dorisvale Crossing.
Licence, access and rules
The Northern Territory has no recreational fishing licence; the Daly’s possession limits and closed areas and any land access rules apply, on the pages linked below.
Common questions
What can I catch above Dorisvale Crossing?
Barramundi and sooty grunter, with catfish.
Can I reach the crossing in the wet?
No; the unsealed roads and the crossing are impassable in the wet season.
Do I need a licence here?
No. The Northern Territory has no recreational fishing licence.
Is fishing good at Daly River above Dorisvale Crossing right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station G8140067 — Daly River - U/S Dorisvale Xng
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.