Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Roper River at Mataranka Homestead Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 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
0.42 m
Air / High
26 °C / 35 °C
Wind
E 20 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 fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. The gauge reads 0.42 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 19 km/h, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 35 °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. Cooler at 31 °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 (06:24), sunset (18:33), 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 G9030176 (Roper R Mat. HS).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station G9030176. Latest reading 2026-09-24 06:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low35 °C / 20 °C
WindE 20 km/h, gusts 44 km/h
Pressure1017.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:24 / 18:33
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Roper River at Mataranka Homestead
The best day on Roper River at Mataranka Homestead 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
- 06:24 to 18:33
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 24 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
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. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
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 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 Roper River at Mataranka Homestead 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 34 °C, wind to 21 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 35 °C, wind to 18 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 stands beside the thermal springs of Elsey National Park, 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
The access points in Elsey National Park and near the homestead give access to the river; check the park’s rules for where fishing is allowed. Crocodiles can be present.
Planning a visit
Mataranka, on the Stuart Highway, has supplies, the homestead has accommodation and camping, and the thermal pool is a local institution.
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. The Northern Territory has no recreational fishing licence.
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
- 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.