Spanish mackerel
Excellent
Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
Ayr Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Burdekin delta from Ayr: the creeks and mouths of the Burdekin, Alva Beach and Cape Bowling Green, with barra, jacks, grunter and mackerel.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 1:30 pm model
Air / High
20 °C / 26 °C
Wind
SE 13 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Ayr sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SE around 13 km/h, steady pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Tides: high 7:23 am and 7:39 pm, low 1:48 am and 1:30 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. 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.
Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
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. Similar at 27 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Queensland has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. Queensland fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing barramundi here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Barramundi page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Ayr today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:57), sunset (18:06), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. 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
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Tides (modelled)
Modelled sea level curve from Open-Meteo Marine for these coordinates, datum mean sea level. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
A model, not the official prediction: times can drift by tens of minutes inside bays and estuaries. Check the Bureau of Meteorology tide predictions for the exact times before you rely on them.
Fri
LOW1:48 am-0.24 m
HIGH7:23 am1.40 m
LOW1:30 pm-0.26 m
HIGH7:39 pm1.86 m
Sat
LOW2:11 am-0.30 m
HIGH7:51 am1.51 m
LOW2:01 pm-0.26 m
HIGH8:00 pm1.80 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp20 °C
High / Low26 °C / 19 °C
WindSE 13 km/h, gusts 25 km/h
Pressure1023.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain28% cloud, 45%
Sunrise / Sunset05:57 / 18:06
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Ayr
The best day on Ayr this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 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 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:57 to 18:06
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 26 km/h
- Rain chance
- 45%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Ayr: 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
Open now Closes 1 Nov 2026. Closed 1 November to 31 January on the east coast, tidal and fresh, except in the stocked dams the Queensland Government lists. No catch and release in the closure. Rule as read from Queensland Department of Primary Industries on 2026-09-23.
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.
Spanish mackerel
Winter and spring in the north; summer in NSW
The narrow-barred Spanish mackerel: a speedster of the headlands, reefs and shoals from Queensland around to northern WA, and a summer visitor to NSW. Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
When to come: the Ayr 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
Spanish mackerel
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 Ayr today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 26 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 27 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence; permits apply on some waters and the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by Queensland DPI and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Queensland licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Line fishing at Ayr needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the size and bag limits, the crab rules and the Bowling Green Bay marine park zoning apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Ayr is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Ayr: the full guide
Ayr and the Burdekin delta
Ayr is the sugar town on the Burdekin delta south of Townsville, with the Burdekin River’s mouths and the delta creeks of Plantation, Barramundi and Wunjunga running to the sea, Alva Beach and its ramp on the coast, Cape Bowling Green and its long sand spit to the north, and the Bowling Green Bay flats. It is a delta town, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. The Burdekin River at Clare has its own page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the delta creeks, the drains and the river mouths in the warm season and are the delta’s fish, under the east coast closed season; mangrove jack fish the snags in summer; grunter fish the creek holes and the bay; king threadfin salmon fish the mouths and the flats; whiting and dart fish Alva Beach; queenfish and trevally work the cape; Spanish mackerel run Cape Bowling Green and the reef in the cooler months; and mud crabs work the creeks under the pot rules. The mouths shift and the local marks matter.
Where to fish it
Alva Beach east of the town is the whiting and dart sand and the ramp for the run to Cape Bowling Green, and Plantation Creek and the Burdekin’s mouths at Groper Creek and Wunjunga are the barra, jack and grunter water for small boats on the run-out; the Barramundi Creek drains behind the cane are the local marks. The ramps are at Alva, Plantation Creek, Groper Creek and Wunjunga.
Reading this report here
The delta creeks are sheltered and fish in most weather; the wind row matters at Alva Beach and for the run to the cape. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Ayr, labelled as a model, and the creeks run hard on it. Pressure and sky build the score at Ayr, and the rain row matters in the wet season, when the Burdekin floods the delta; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing at Ayr needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the size and bag limits, the crab rules and the Bowling Green Bay marine park zoning apply, on the pages linked below. The beach, the creek banks and the ramps at Alva, Plantation Creek and Wunjunga are public; the crocodile warnings are the other rule to read.
Common questions
What can I catch around Ayr?
Barramundi and mangrove jack in the delta creeks in the warm season, grunter in the holes, threadfin salmon at the mouths, whiting on Alva Beach, mackerel off the cape in the cooler months.
Do I need a licence at Ayr?
No. Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and the closed seasons still apply.
Is fishing good at Ayr 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 the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Tide curve (modelled)
- Open-Meteo Marine, sea level height including tides
- 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.