Australian bass
Good
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Bill Gunn Dam Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Lake Dyer at Laidley in the Lockyer Valley: bass, golden perch, Mary River cod and silver perch, a Stocked Impoundment Permit water with a Bureau gauge.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
107.49 m4,638 ML
Air / High
16 °C / 24 °C
Wind
ESE 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 143228A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Bill Gunn Dam has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 107.49 m, easing 0.16 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 6 km/h, falling pressure near 1031 hPa and a high of 24 °C. Water sits around 16 °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: 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 24 °C with a rain chance. 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 australian bass here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Australian bass page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Bill Gunn Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:37), sunset (17:47), 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 143228A (Bill Gunn Dam L Dyer).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 143228A. Latest reading 2026-09-24 08:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low24 °C / 14 °C
WindESE 6 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure1030.5 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 52%
Sunrise / Sunset05:37 / 17:47
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Bill Gunn Dam
Today is the pick of the week on Bill Gunn Dam, at 4 out of 5. 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: today, 25 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 25 Sept — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- 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
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 52%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Bill Gunn Dam: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Australian bass
September to April in the rivers; closed June to August in NSW rivers
The native sportfish of the east-coast rivers and the stocked dams. Surface lures in summer, deep in winter, and a river closed season for spawning. Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
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. Slower. Work the deeper timber and the drop-offs with vibes and bait.
When to come: the Bill Gunn Dam 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
Australian bass
Golden perch
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 16 °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 Bill Gunn Dam 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. Australian bass led the card at fair. High of 25 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at fair. High of 26 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Australian bass led the card at good. High of 29 °C, wind to 21 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
Bill Gunn Dam is a Stocked Impoundment Permit water: from age 18, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year, as read from the Queensland Government; our Queensland licence page has the details.
About this water
Bill Gunn Dam is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Bill Gunn Dam: the full guide
Bill Gunn Dam
Bill Gunn Dam, known locally as Lake Dyer, is the small off-stream storage beside Laidley in the Lockyer Valley west of Ipswich, filled from Laidley Creek and ringed by a caravan park and picnic ground. It is a family fishing lake on the Queensland Government’s stocked impoundment list, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
The Queensland Government lists Australian bass, golden perch, Mary River cod and silver perch as stocked at Bill Gunn. Bass and golden perch are the fish of the lake, taken on lures along the edges and on shrimp and worms from the bank; silver perch school in open water; Mary River cod are few and prized. There is no closed season on these species in the dam, and the species card is scored for bass and golden perch.
Where to fish it
The grassed banks around the caravan park and the picnic area give easy shore fishing at Lake Dyer, casting from the points and the edges of the weed, and a kayak or a small craft under the dam’s rules covers the open water where the bass and silver perch school. The lake is shallow and warms fast, so the edges fish early and late in summer.
Planning a visit
Laidley is a short drive west of Ipswich along the Warrego Highway, and the caravan park at the lake makes a weekend easy. The permit can be bought online. Light gear for bass and golden perch, a folding chair and bait for the kids suit the lake; in a dry year check how far the water has fallen before making the trip.
Reading this report here
A small, open lake on the valley floor, Bill Gunn is stirred by a westerly and the wind row decides the bank to fish; the chart shows how far the storage has drawn down, which in dry years is a long way. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Bill Gunn Dam, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Bill Gunn Dam is a Stocked Impoundment Permit water: from age 18, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year, as read from the Queensland Government; our Queensland licence page has the details. The caravan park and the picnic ground are the access, and the Queensland freshwater size and bag limits apply, in the sources.
Common questions
Is Lake Dyer the same as Bill Gunn Dam?
Yes. Bill Gunn Dam at Laidley is widely called Lake Dyer, and the Queensland Government lists it as Bill Gunn Dam (Lake Dyer).
What can I catch at Bill Gunn Dam?
Australian bass, golden perch, Mary River cod and silver perch are the species stocked here.
Do I need a permit at Bill Gunn Dam?
Yes. Anglers aged 18 and over need a Stocked Impoundment Permit.
Is fishing good at Bill Gunn Dam 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 143228A — Bill Gunn Dam L Dyer
- 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.