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.
Victoria River Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Victoria River at the highway crossing: barramundi in the big river of the western Territory, lures only inside Judbarra / Gregory National Park, with the Bureau’s gauge at the bridge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
5.00 m
Air / High
26 °C / 37 °C
Wind
NNE 5 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge G8110018, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Victoria River is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. The gauge reads 5.00 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNE around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 37 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:45 PM-1:45 AM and 11:21 AM-1:21 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: 11:45 PM-1:45 AM, 11:21 AM-1:21 PM, 5:16 AM-6:16 AM. Similar at 36 °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 Victoria River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:06), sunset (18:52), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:45 PM-1:45 AM and 11:21 AM-1:21 PM; minor 5:16 AM-6:16 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station G8110018 (Victoria River - Victoria Hwy).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station G8110018. Latest reading 2026-11-08 01:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low37 °C / 24 °C
WindNNE 5 km/h, gusts 8 km/h
Pressure1011.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain94% cloud, 67%
Sunrise / Sunset06:06 / 18:52
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Victoria River
The best day on Victoria River this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:45 PM-1:45 AM and 11:21 AM-1:21 PM
- Minor period
- 5:16 AM-6:16 AM
- Sun
- 06:06 to 18:52
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 67%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Victoria River: 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 Victoria River 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 Victoria River 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 34 °C, wind to 19 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 38 °C, wind to 11 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 37 °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
The Northern Territory has no recreational fishing licence, but visitors from outside the Territory need an NT Parks Visitor Pass for Judbarra / Gregory, and campgrounds must be booked online.
About this water
Victoria River is a river in Northern Territory, Australia, covered from the Northern Territory reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Victoria River: the full guide
The reach
The Victoria River at the Victoria Highway crossing is the big river of the Territory’s west, running between sandstone escarpments near the Victoria River Roadhouse on the road between Katherine and Kununurra, with Judbarra / Gregory National Park along much of the river. Bureau of Meteorology station G8110018, Victoria River - Victoria Hwy, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the target through the dry and on the run-off, with the Territory’s five-fish limit and 55 cm minimum. NT Parks says everything in this part of the Victoria River District is big, the barramundi and saltwater crocodiles included, and warns that saltwater crocodiles live in all waterways in the park. Other freshwater and estuary species, each under its own Territory limit, turn up as you move downstream toward Timber Creek and the tidal river.
Where to fish it
Inside Judbarra / Gregory National Park you may fish only with lures: bait is banned to avoid accidental capture of turtles, and nets, traps and firearms are not permitted. NT Parks lists a Victoria River boat ramp and the Big Horse Creek ramps near Timber Creek, where two-wheel-drive vehicles can reach concrete ramps. It is a boat river; from the bank, stay well back from the water.
Reading the report
The highway gauge shows a big river that floods in the wet and falls through the dry to long pools; the run-off as it drops is the barramundi season most anglers plan for. The water temperature is an estimate, labelled as one, and the escarpments can funnel wind along the river, so the wind row is worth checking before a long run by boat.
Rules and access
The Northern Territory has no recreational fishing licence, but visitors from outside the Territory need an NT Parks Visitor Pass for Judbarra / Gregory, and campgrounds must be booked online. The park rules and the Territory’s possession limits are on the NT Government pages linked below.
Common questions
Can I use bait on the Victoria River?
Not inside Judbarra / Gregory National Park, where fishing is lures-only to protect turtles; outside the park the Territory’s general rules apply.
Where can I launch a boat on the Victoria River?
NT Parks lists a Victoria River boat ramp in Judbarra / Gregory National Park and concrete ramps at Big Horse Creek near Timber Creek.
Is fishing good at Victoria River 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 G8110018 — Victoria River - Victoria Hwy
- 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.