Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Balonne River at Surat Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Balonne at Surat: golden perch and Murray cod in the stocked Surat Weir pool, with a Bureau gauge and the Murray-Darling cod closure.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
6.73 m
Air / High
19 °C / 28 °C
Wind
SSE 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 422220A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Balonne River at Surat sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. The gauge reads 6.73 m, up 3.39 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 28 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:02 PM-1:02 AM and 10:38 AM-12:38 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Murray cod
Slow
Prime. Cast big spinnerbaits, hardbodies and swimbaits tight to timber and rock, and work the same snag several times.
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: 11:02 PM-1:02 AM, 10:38 AM-12:38 PM, 4:12 AM-5:12 AM. Warmer at 32 °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 murray cod here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Murray cod page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Balonne River at Surat today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:08), sunset (18:27), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:02 PM-1:02 AM and 10:38 AM-12:38 PM; minor 4:12 AM-5:12 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 422220A (Balonne_R Surat).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 422220A. Latest reading 2026-11-08 18:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low28 °C / 11 °C
WindSSE 6 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure1015.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain73% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:08 / 18:27
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Balonne River at Surat
Today is the pick of the week on Balonne River at Surat, at 4 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 11:02 PM-1:02 AM and 10:38 AM-12:38 PM
- Minor period
- 4:12 AM-5:12 AM
- Sun
- 05:08 to 18:27
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Balonne River at Surat: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Murray cod
Closed 1 September to 30 November in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, and 1 August to 31 October in Queensland; check the exempt lakes
Open now Closes 1 Aug 2027. Closed 1 August to 31 October in Queensland’s Murray-Darling fresh waters, except Connolly, Cooby, Coolmunda, Glenlyon, Leslie and Storm King dams. Rule as read from Queensland Department of Primary Industries on 2026-09-23.
The giant of the inland rivers and the big lakes (Hume, Mulwala, Eildon). A snag fish that eats big lures, and a species with a closed season across the Murray-Darling. Prime. Cast big spinnerbaits, hardbodies and swimbaits tight to timber and rock, and work the same snag several times.
Golden perch
Best: November to April
Yellowbelly. The bread-and-butter native of the Murray-Darling lakes and rivers; loves warm water, structure and a lure worked slowly past its nose. Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
When to come: the Balonne River at Surat 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
Murray cod
Golden perch
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 19 °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 Balonne River at Surat today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 33 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 30 °C, wind to 10 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
Queensland has no general licence, but Surat Weir needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year from age 18; the cod closure and the limits are in the sources..
About this water
Balonne River at Surat is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Balonne River at Surat: the full guide
The Balonne at Surat
Surat is the Maranoa town on the Balonne River, about 68 km south of Roma, where Surat Weir, off Augusta Street, holds a pool through the town between river red gums and coolibah. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Surat, station 422220A, supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Balonne at St George, downstream, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Golden perch and Murray cod are the fish of the Balonne at Surat. Surat Weir is on the Queensland Government’s stocked impoundment list, with golden perch, Murray cod and silver perch stocked, and the Surat Fishing and Restocking Club and Maranoa Regional Council manage it. Queensland closes Murray cod in its Murray-Darling fresh waters from 1 August to 31 October, and Surat Weir is not one of the exempt dams; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The weir pool and the riverside reserves in Surat give bank access, and a kayak covers the pool. Anyone 18 or older line fishing the weir pool needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit. Work the timber in the pool slowly for cod, and fish shrimp near the bottom for golden perch.
Planning a visit
Surat has supplies and camping by the river. Buy the permit online, by phone or at an Australia Post outlet before fishing the weir pool, and carry it while you fish.
The river through the year
The Balonne at Surat is weir water: the weir holds a long pool through the town, steadier than the open river above and below it. The river rises and colours after rain upstream, and the golden perch in the pool and below the weir feed on those rises in the warm months. Cod hold in the timber of the pool and are off limits from August to October. The winter is slower, with cold nights and clear water, and the summer heat makes the mornings and evenings the times to fish.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the weir pool and the flows that come down the Balonne after rain. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Surat.
Licence, access and rules
Queensland has no general licence, but Surat Weir needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year from age 18; the cod closure and the limits are in the sources.
Common questions
Do I need a permit at Surat?
For Surat Weir, yes: it is a stocked impoundment, and the permit is needed from age 18.
When is Murray cod closed at Surat?
From 1 August to 31 October, Queensland’s Murray-Darling cod closure.
What is stocked in Surat Weir?
The Queensland Government lists golden perch, Murray cod and silver perch for Surat Weir.
Is fishing good at Balonne River at Surat right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 422220A — Balonne_R Surat
- 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.