Tailor
Excellent
The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Bargara Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Bundaberg’s beach: the Bargara rocks and beaches, the turtle coast of Mon Repos, with whiting, bream, tailor and the mackerel of the reef.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 6:55 pm model
Air / High
19 °C / 23 °C
Wind
SE 17 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Bargara has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 18 km/h, steady pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 23 °C. Tides: high 6:43 am and 6:55 pm, low 12:47 am and 12:43 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 18 °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.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Fair
Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Fair
The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 23 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. 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 bream here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Bream page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Bargara today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:37), sunset (17:47), 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
LOW12:47 am-0.70 m
HIGH6:43 am1.34 m
LOW12:43 pm-0.67 m
HIGH6:55 pm1.75 m
Sat
LOW1:15 am-0.80 m
HIGH7:15 am1.51 m
LOW1:24 pm-0.72 m
HIGH7:23 pm1.69 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low23 °C / 17 °C
WindSE 17 km/h, gusts 33 km/h
Pressure1028.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain21% cloud, 98%
Sunrise / Sunset05:37 / 17:47
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~18 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Bargara
The best day on Bargara this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, 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: Thursday, 1 Oct — 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
- 05:37 to 17:47
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 27 km/h
- Rain chance
- 98%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Bargara: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Best: November to April
Dusky flathead in the eastern estuaries, sand flathead in the southern bays. An ambush predator lying on sand and mud edges waiting for whatever the tide brings. Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Best: summer and autumn, especially after rain
Jewfish. The big silver prize of the estuaries, breakwalls and surf beaches: nocturnal, tide-driven and unforgiving of noise. The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; August to September on Fraser Island
The surf and rock fish of the east coast, running north in autumn and winter. Fast, toothy and best at dawn, dusk and into the dark. The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
When to come: the Bargara 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
Bream
Flathead
Mulloway
Tailor
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 18 °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 Bargara 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. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 27 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 13 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 Bargara needs no Queensland licence; the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits and the marine park zoning apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Bargara is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Bargara: the full guide
Bargara and the coast
Bargara is the beach town east of Bundaberg, with the basalt rock platforms and pools of the foreshore, Kellys Beach to the south, the turtle beach of Mon Repos to the north, Burnett Heads and the river mouth beyond it, and the reef and the Lady Musgrave lagoon out to sea. It is a rocks-and-beach town at the southern edge of the reef, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Bundaberg has its own page.
Species and seasons
Whiting fish Kellys Beach and the sand all year and are the town’s fish; bream fish the basalt platforms and the pools; tailor run the beaches and the rocks in the cooler months; dart fish the beaches; flathead lie in the beach gutters; Spanish mackerel run the headlands and the reef in the cooler months; squid work the rock pools; and the reef gives coral trout, red emperor and sweetlip for the boats out of Burnett Heads. The turtles of Mon Repos nest from November and the beach is managed for them.
Where to fish it
The basalt platforms along the Bargara foreshore from the Basin to Nielson Park are the bream and squid rocks, fished on the rising tide, and Kellys Beach south of the town is the whiting sand; Mon Repos beach north of the town is the tailor beach outside the turtle season, and Burnett Heads’ walls and the river mouth are the jew and bream marks. The ramps are at Burnett Heads and the Burnett River.
Reading this report here
The coast faces east and a south-easterly builds the surf and closes the platforms and the beaches, while a westerly flattens the sea; the wind row tells you which. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Bargara, labelled as a model, and the platforms fish on the rising tide. Pressure and sky build the score at Bargara; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing at Bargara needs no Queensland licence; the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits and the marine park zoning apply, on the pages linked below. The platforms, the beaches and the foreshore are public, with ramps at Burnett Heads; the Mon Repos turtle rules from November are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Bargara?
Whiting on Kellys Beach, bream on the basalt platforms, tailor in the cooler months, mackerel off the headlands, reef fish for the boats out of Burnett Heads.
Do I need a licence at Bargara?
No. Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and the marine park zoning still apply.
Is fishing good at Bargara 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.