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.
Roper River at Mataranka Homestead Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Roper River at Mataranka Homestead: barramundi and sooty grunter in the spring-fed upper Roper, with a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.47 m
Air / High
29 °C / 38 °C
Wind
SE 2 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge G9030176, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Roper River at Mataranka Homestead is in full summer mode: early starts, shade at midday, and the evening change. The gauge reads 0.47 m, up 0.06 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 2 km/h, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 38 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:36 PM-1:36 AM and 11:12 AM-1:12 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: 11:36 PM-1:36 AM, 11:12 AM-1:12 PM, 5:08 AM-6:08 AM. Similar at 38 °C with a rain chance. 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 Roper River at Mataranka Homestead today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:58), sunset (18:43), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:36 PM-1:36 AM and 11:12 AM-1:12 PM; minor 5:08 AM-6:08 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station G9030176 (Roper R Mat. HS).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station G9030176. Latest reading 2026-11-08 06:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp29 °C
High / Low38 °C / 27 °C
WindSE 2 km/h, gusts 17 km/h
Pressure1011.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain92% cloud, 55%
Sunrise / Sunset05:58 / 18:43
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Roper River at Mataranka Homestead
Today is the pick of the week on Roper River at Mataranka Homestead, at 2 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — tough at 2/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:36 PM-1:36 AM and 11:12 AM-1:12 PM
- Minor period
- 5:08 AM-6:08 AM
- Sun
- 05:58 to 18:43
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 55%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Roper River at Mataranka Homestead: 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 Roper River at Mataranka Homestead 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 Roper River at Mataranka Homestead today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 38 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 39 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 38 °C, wind to 11 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 the Elsey National Park rules apply, on the pages linked below..
About this water
Roper River at Mataranka Homestead is a river in Northern Territory, Australia, covered from the Northern Territory reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Roper River at Mataranka Homestead: the full guide
The Roper at Mataranka
Mataranka Homestead is in Elsey National Park, which NT Parks places 8 km from Mataranka and 120 km south of Katherine, where the spring-fed upper Roper River runs clear between pandanus and paperbarks on its long way east to the Gulf. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Mataranka Homestead supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Roper at Roper Bar has its own page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi and sooty grunter are the fish of the upper Roper, the barramundi in the deeper pools and snags, the grunter in the runs, on lures. The Northern Territory has no general closed season for barramundi; the possession and size limits apply, and Elsey National Park has its own rules.
Where to fish it
NT Parks lists two boat ramps and several land-based fishing spots along the Roper inside Elsey National Park; check the park’s map for where fishing is allowed. Crocodiles can be present.
Planning a visit
Mataranka, on the Stuart Highway, has supplies. In the park, Jalmurark Campground has hosts in the peak season from May to September, the thermal waters at Bitter Springs and the Mataranka Thermal Pool stay at about 34 °C all year, and visitors to the NT need an NT Parks Visitor Pass.
The river through the year
Springs keep the upper Roper flowing through the dry: the thermal springs around Mataranka, in Elsey National Park, feed clear, warm water into the river even when the country around it is parched, so the reach at the homestead holds water all year. The wet season, roughly November to April, lifts the river and can flood the crossings and the low roads; the run-off that follows is when the barramundi move and feed. Through the dry, from about May to October, the river is clear and steady and the sooty grunter are the easy fish of the runs. Downstream, the Roper leaves the spring country and runs east for hundreds of kilometres to the tidal river at Roper Bar and on to the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the upper Roper’s spring-fed flow and the wet-season rise. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm all year; pressure and sky build the score at Mataranka.
Licence, access and rules
No recreational fishing licence is needed in the Northern Territory; the possession limits and the Elsey National Park rules apply, on the pages linked below.
Common questions
What can I catch at Mataranka?
Barramundi and sooty grunter.
Can I fish in Elsey National Park?
Where the park allows it; check its rules, linked in the sources.
Do I need a licence here?
No. Nobody needs a recreational fishing licence to fish the Roper River at Mataranka Homestead, or anywhere else in the Territory.
Is fishing good at Roper River at Mataranka Homestead 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 G9030176 — Roper R Mat. HS
- 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.