Barramundi
Excellent
Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Fergusson River at the railway bridge north of Katherine: sooty grunter and barramundi in a Daly tributary, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Level
0.91 m
Air / High
26 °C / 36 °C
Wind
SE 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge G8140008, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. The gauge reads 0.91 m, easing 0.13 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SE around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 36 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:42 PM-1:42 AM and 11:18 AM-1:18 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.
Tie on: Soft plastic, 3 to 5 inch paddle tail · Pilchard on ganged hooks · Metal slug, 20 to 40 g · Surface walker at first light. Prime windows: 11:42 PM-1:42 AM, 11:18 AM-1:18 PM, 5:15 AM-6:15 AM. Similar at 37 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. 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 Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:04), sunset (18:46), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:42 PM-1:42 AM and 11:18 AM-1:18 PM; minor 5:15 AM-6:15 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station G8140008 (Fergusson River - Railway Bridge).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station G8140008. Latest reading 2026-11-08 06:40.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low36 °C / 25 °C
WindSE 4 km/h, gusts 43 km/h
Pressure1011.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain51% cloud, 65%
Sunrise / Sunset06:04 / 18:46
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge
Today is the pick of the week on Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
- Solunar majors
- 11:42 PM-1:42 AM and 11:18 AM-1:18 PM
- Minor period
- 5:15 AM-6:15 AM
- Sun
- 06:04 to 18:46
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 65%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge: 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. Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
When to come: the Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge 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 29 °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 Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 36 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 36 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 36 °C, wind to 19 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
No recreational fishing licence is needed in the Northern Territory; the possession limits and closed areas apply, on the pages linked below..
About this water
Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge is a river in Northern Territory, Australia, covered from the Northern Territory reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge: the full guide
The Fergusson at the railway bridge
The Fergusson River crosses the Stuart Highway and the railway north of Katherine on its way west to join the Daly, a seasonal tropical river of sandy pools and pandanus that runs hard in the wet and shrinks through the dry. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the railway bridge supplies the level of the Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge and the 30-day chart on this page. The Daly and the Katherine have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Sooty grunter are the common fish of the Fergusson’s pools on small lures, and barramundi push up the river from the Daly in the wet and the run-off. The Northern Territory has no general closed season for barramundi; NT-wide the limit is five fish over 55 cm, and the tighter Daly River Fish Management Zone limits apply where its map covers the catchment.
Where to fish it
The public land where the Stuart Highway crosses the river gives access to the pools near the bridges. Crocodiles can be present: take care near the water.
Planning a visit
Katherine, to the south, has supplies and accommodation. The river is best fished from the run-off into the early dry, while the pools still flow.
The river through the year
The Fergusson has no springs to keep it running, so it follows the seasons closely: through the wet, roughly November to April, it floods and can run high across the crossings; in the run-off it falls back and the barramundi that came up from the Daly feed in the pools; and deep in the dry, from about June to October, it can stop flowing and shrink to a string of pools. The early dry, while the pools still connect, is the best time to fish it. The water is often clear then, so light lines and a careful approach to the pools help. Downstream the river joins the Daly west of the highway.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Fergusson rising in the wet and falling away in the dry. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm all year; pressure and sky build the score at the railway bridge.
Licence, access and rules
No recreational fishing licence is needed in the Northern Territory; the possession limits and closed areas apply, on the pages linked below.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Fergusson River?
Sooty grunter, and barramundi from the Daly in the wet and the run-off.
Where is the Fergusson River?
North of Katherine, where the Stuart Highway and the railway cross it.
Do I need a licence here?
No. Nobody needs a recreational fishing licence to fish the Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge, or anywhere else in the Territory.
Is fishing good at Fergusson River at the Railway Bridge right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station G8140008 — Fergusson River - Railway Bridge
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- 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.