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 Roper Bar Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Roper at Roper Bar: barramundi at the river crossing on the road to the Gulf, with Aboriginal land permits downstream and the Bureau’s Red Rock gauge upstream.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
1.49 m
Air / High
31 °C / 41 °C
Wind
SW 8 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge G9030250, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Roper River at Roper Bar is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. The gauge reads 1.49 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 41 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:07 AM-1:07 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: 11:31 PM-1:31 AM, 11:07 AM-1:07 PM, 5:03 AM-6:03 AM. Similar at 41 °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 Roper River at Roper Bar today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:53), sunset (18:37), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:07 AM-1:07 PM; minor 5:03 AM-6:03 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station G9030250 (Roper River - Red Rock).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station G9030250. Latest reading 2026-11-08 01:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp31 °C
High / Low41 °C / 28 °C
WindSW 8 km/h, gusts 16 km/h
Pressure1010.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain70% cloud, 59%
Sunrise / Sunset05:53 / 18:37
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Roper River at Roper Bar
Today is the pick of the week on Roper River at Roper Bar, 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
- 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:07 AM-1:07 PM
- Minor period
- 5:03 AM-6:03 AM
- Sun
- 05:53 to 18:37
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 27 km/h
- Rain chance
- 59%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Roper River at Roper Bar: 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 Roper Bar 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 Roper Bar 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 41 °C, wind to 23 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 42 °C, wind to 24 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 41 °C, wind to 23 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
There is no fishing licence to buy in the Northern Territory; the Territory’s possession limits apply, and so do the Northern Land Council’s permit requirements where the river crosses Aboriginal land.
About this water
Roper River at Roper Bar is a river in Northern Territory, Australia, covered from the Northern Territory reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Roper River at Roper Bar: the full guide
The reach
Roper Bar is the crossing of the Roper River on the Roper Highway east of Mataranka, a rock bar where the road fords the river on the way toward Ngukurr and the Gulf of Carpentaria. The gauge here, Bureau of Meteorology station G9030012, has published nothing since October 2025, so the level and 30-day chart on this page come from station G9030250, Roper River - Red Rock, about 9 km upstream on the same river with no named tributary joining between.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the reason people make the drive, on the rock bar, snags and deep pools through the dry and on the run-off, with the Territory limit of five per person and a 55 cm minimum. Other freshwater and estuary species share the river, each under its own Territory limit. This is saltwater crocodile country, so fish from a boat or from high, open ground well back from the edge.
Where to fish it
The crossing itself goes under water in the wet, and fishing around the bar is a matter of timing, care and footing on wet rock. Ngukurr, downstream, is an Aboriginal community, and the NT Government says you need a Northern Land Council permit to enter Aboriginal land and may need one to fish tidal waters over it. Upstream pools can be reached in the dry by small boat or canoe.
Reading the report
The Red Rock level, the rain row and the calendar tell you most: the wet brings flooding and road closures, the run-off as the river falls is the prime barramundi period, and late in the dry the water is at its lowest and clearest. The water temperature is an estimate, labelled as one, and the pressure trend matters as storms build before the wet.
Rules and access
There is no fishing licence to buy in the Northern Territory; the Territory’s possession limits apply, and so do the Northern Land Council’s permit requirements where the river crosses Aboriginal land. Unsealed roads in this region can close in the wet, so check road conditions before you travel, carry spare fuel and water, and tell someone your plans, since help is a long way off.
Common questions
Do I need a permit to fish below Roper Bar?
You need a Northern Land Council permit to enter Aboriginal land, and you may need one to fish tidal waters over it; the NT Government page linked below explains how to apply.
How many barramundi can I keep at Roper Bar?
Five per person under the Territory-wide possession limits, with a 55 cm minimum.
Is fishing good at Roper River at Roper Bar 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 G9030250 — Roper River - Red Rock
- 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.