Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Bjelke-Petersen Dam Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
Lake Barambah near Moffatdale in the South Burnett: a dam Sunwater calls renowned for its bass fishery, also stocked with golden perch, saratoga and silver perch, with two ramps and a permit.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
306.99 m128,137 ML
Air / High
16 °C / 26 °C
Wind
NE 8 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 136210A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Bjelke-Petersen Dam has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 306.99 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind NE around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 26 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 10:26 AM-12:26 PM and 10:47 PM-12:47 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
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: 10:26 AM-12:26 PM, 10:47 PM-12:47 AM, 4:02 AM-5:02 AM. Warmer at 28 °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 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 Bjelke-Petersen Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (04:57), sunset (18:14), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:26 AM-12:26 PM and 10:47 PM-12:47 AM; minor 4:02 AM-5:02 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 136210A (BP Dam HW).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 136210A. Latest reading 2026-11-08 11:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low26 °C / 14 °C
WindNE 8 km/h, gusts 22 km/h
Pressure1018.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain82% cloud, 49%
Sunrise / Sunset04:57 / 18:14
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Bjelke-Petersen Dam
Today is the pick of the week on Bjelke-Petersen Dam, 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
- 10:26 AM-12:26 PM and 10:47 PM-12:47 AM
- Minor period
- 4:02 AM-5:02 AM
- Sun
- 04:57 to 18:14
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 49%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Bjelke-Petersen 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 1 May to 31 August in NSW rivers, and dams stay open
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. Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
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 Bjelke-Petersen 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 21 °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 Bjelke-Petersen Dam 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. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 31 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 18 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
Bjelke-Petersen Dam is a scheme water: the Stocked Impoundment Permit is required from age 18, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year.
Permit
Bjelke-Petersen Dam is in Queensland’s Stocked Impoundment Permit scheme: anyone 18 or over fishing it with a line needs the permit, and one permit covers every scheme water. What the permit costs and where to buy it. Compare it with every other storage in the state on Queensland dam levels today.
About this water
Bjelke-Petersen Dam is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Bjelke-Petersen Dam: the full guide
The lake
Bjelke-Petersen Dam forms Lake Barambah near Moffatdale in the South Burnett, capturing Barker, Four Mile, Six Mile, Frickey and Cattle creeks. Construction began in 1984 and finished in 1988, and the spillway was raised in 2007 after a review of catchment rainfall. Sunwater says the lake covers about 2,500 hectares, is named after one of the area’s first cattle stations and is renowned for its bass fishery. The Bureau of Meteorology’s station at the dam, 136210A, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
The Queensland Government’s stocked impoundment list gives Australian bass, golden perch, saratoga and silver perch for Bjelke-Petersen Dam. The species card rates bass and golden perch through the year. Bass move from deeper schools in winter to edges and weed in the warmer months; golden perch are strongest from spring to autumn; saratoga feed near the surface in warm weather.
Where to fish it
Sunwater lists two boat ramps, one next to the dam wall and one directly below the camping area, both managed by South Burnett Regional Council. Points, drowned timber and weed edges are the places to start; troll or cast lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits for bass and golden perch, and use small surface lures for saratoga at first light. Fishing on or near the wall is not allowed, and boats must stay 100 metres from it.
Reading the report
The chart shows how far the lake is drawn down; lower levels concentrate fish near deeper points and channels. The estimated water temperature row signals the change from winter schooling to summer edge fishing. Wind across open water stirs up the shallows, so the wind row is worth a look.
Permits, access and rules
Bjelke-Petersen Dam is a scheme water: the Stocked Impoundment Permit is required from age 18, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year. Sunwater owns and manages the north-west recreation facilities, South Burnett Regional Council the eastern ones, and a private operator runs the camping and accommodation.
Common questions
What can I catch at Lake Barambah?
Stocked Australian bass, golden perch, saratoga and silver perch, according to the Queensland Government.
Where are the boat ramps at Bjelke-Petersen Dam?
Sunwater lists two: one next to the dam wall and one directly below the camping area.
Is fishing good at Bjelke-Petersen 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 136210A — BP Dam HW
- 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.