Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Ben Anderson Barrage Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Burnett River barrage at Bundaberg: stocked barramundi in the town’s freshwater pool, open through the closed season, with a Bureau gauge at the barrage.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
2.90 m22,486 ML
Air / High
16 °C / 24 °C
Wind
SSE 9 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 136020A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Ben Anderson Barrage is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. The gauge reads 2.90 m, easing 0.16 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 10 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 24 °C. 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.
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 24 °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 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 Ben Anderson Barrage today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:38), sunset (17:48), the moon and today's score. 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
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 136020A (Ben Andersen HW).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 136020A. Latest reading 2026-09-24 11:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low24 °C / 16 °C
WindSSE 9 km/h, gusts 16 km/h
Pressure1028.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain10% cloud, 96%
Sunrise / Sunset05:38 / 17:48
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Ben Anderson Barrage
The best day on Ben Anderson Barrage this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 5 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: Sunday, 27 Sept — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
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
- 05:38 to 17:48
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 96%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Ben Anderson Barrage: 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 all year Ben Anderson Barrage is exempt from the closed season 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.
When to come: the Ben Anderson Barrage 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 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 Ben Anderson Barrage today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 26 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 26 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 27 °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
The Ben Anderson Barrage pool is a Stocked Impoundment Permit water: anglers from age 18 need the permit, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year as read from the Queensland Government, with the details on our Queensland licence page.
About this water
Ben Anderson Barrage is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Ben Anderson Barrage: the full guide
Ben Anderson Barrage
The Ben Anderson Barrage holds back the Burnett River above the tide at Bundaberg, turning the river through and above the city into a long freshwater pool that runs upstream between cane fields and riverbank parks. It is a stocked impoundment on the Queensland Government’s list, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the barrage supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page. Bundaberg and the tidal Burnett below the barrage have their own page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the species the Queensland Government lists as stocked in the barrage pool, and they are why it is fished: along the weed edges, the fallen timber and the deeper bends, on soft plastics, hardbodies and surface lures, best from late spring into autumn. The pool is one of the waters where the east coast barramundi closed season does not apply, and the government’s exemption also covers Paradise Dam, Claude Wharton Weir and Jones Weir upstream; the species card computes that with the rule linked.
Where to fish it
The riverbank parks and walkways along the city reaches of the Ben Anderson Barrage pool give shore access to the weed edges and the snags, and the public ramps put a boat or a kayak onto the pool to work the bends and the timber upstream. The deeper outside bends and the drop-offs near the barrage hold barramundi in the cooler months; the shallow weed beds are the summer water at dawn.
Planning a visit
Bundaberg has everything a visiting angler needs within minutes of the barrage pool: tackle shops, ramps, accommodation and fuel. Buy the permit online before you launch. Barramundi gear, a landing net big enough for a metre fish and a tide-free plan are the kit; the barrage pool is fresh water and the tide does not reach above the barrage.
Reading this report here
The pool is a warm, sheltered river and the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is the number that matters most, because barramundi slow right down when the water cools in winter. The chart shows the barrage level, which the water authority holds steady outside floods; pressure and sky build the score at Ben Anderson Barrage, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
The Ben Anderson Barrage pool is a Stocked Impoundment Permit water: anglers from age 18 need the permit, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year as read from the Queensland Government, with the details on our Queensland licence page. The riverbank parks and the ramps are public; the Queensland size and bag limits for barramundi apply, and the rules are in the sources.
Common questions
Is the Ben Anderson Barrage open during the barramundi closed season?
Yes. The Queensland Government lists the barrage, together with Paradise Dam, Claude Wharton Weir and Jones Weir, among the waters where the east coast closed season does not apply.
Do I need a permit to fish the Burnett above the barrage?
Yes. The barrage pool is a stocked impoundment, so anglers aged 18 and over need a Stocked Impoundment Permit.
Where is the Ben Anderson Barrage?
On the Burnett River at Bundaberg, holding the freshwater pool above the tide; the tidal river below it is covered on our Bundaberg page.
Is fishing good at Ben Anderson Barrage 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
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 136020A — Ben Andersen HW
- 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.