Barramundi
Closed today
Reopens 1 Feb 2027. Closed 1 November to 31 January on the east coast, tidal and fresh, except in the stocked dams the Queensland Government lists. No catch and release in the closure.
Cairns Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The tropical north: barramundi in the creeks and the Trinity Inlet, reef fish and pelagics off the Great Barrier Reef, and a wet season that runs the calendar.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
Low 2:37 pm model
Air / High
26 °C / 31 °C
Wind
SE 1 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Cairns is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SE around 2 km/h, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 31 °C. Tides: high 8:27 am and 7:43 pm, low 1:44 am and 2:37 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 10:51 AM-12:51 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.
Spanish mackerel
Closed today
Reopens 28 Nov 2026. East coast waters north of 22°S (just north of Stanage Bay) close to Spanish mackerel for two three-week periods set by the October and November new moons; do not target them then.
Coral trout
Closed today
Reopens 11 Nov 2026. All coral reef fin fish (coral trout, cods and groupers, emperors and the other listed reef species) are closed for two 5-day periods around the October and November new moons, in tidal waters from Cape York south to 24°50′S.
Tie on: Soft plastic, 3 to 5 inch paddle tail · Pilchard on ganged hooks · Metal slug, 20 to 40 g · Surface walker at first light. Prime windows: 11:15 PM-1:15 AM, 10:51 AM-12:51 PM, 4:43 AM-5:43 AM. Similar at 30 °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 Cairns today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:35), sunset (18:25), 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 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 10:51 AM-12:51 PM; minor 4:43 AM-5:43 AM. New Moon, 0% 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.
Mon
LOW1:44 am-0.43 m
HIGH8:27 am1.45 m
LOW2:37 pm0.23 m
HIGH7:43 pm0.96 m
Tue
LOW2:07 am-0.37 m
HIGH9:05 am1.42 m
LOW3:17 pm0.36 m
HIGH8:00 pm0.82 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low31 °C / 24 °C
WindSE 1 km/h, gusts 6 km/h
Pressure1013.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain25% cloud, 75%
Sunrise / Sunset05:35 / 18:25
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Cairns
Today is the pick of the week on Cairns, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
- Solunar majors
- 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 10:51 AM-12:51 PM
- Minor period
- 4:43 AM-5:43 AM
- Sun
- 05:35 to 18:25
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 75%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Cairns: 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
Closed now Reopens 1 Feb 2027. Closed 1 November to 31 January on the east coast, tidal and fresh, except in the stocked dams the Queensland Government lists. No catch and release in the closure. 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.
Spanish mackerel
Winter and spring in the north; summer in NSW
Closed now Reopens 28 Nov 2026. East coast waters north of 22°S (just north of Stanage Bay) close to Spanish mackerel for two three-week periods set by the October and November new moons; do not target them then. Rule as read from Queensland Department of Primary Industries on 2026-09-27.
The narrow-barred Spanish mackerel: a speedster of the headlands, reefs and shoals from Queensland around to northern WA, and a summer visitor to NSW.
Coral trout
Year-round on the reef; in Queensland two 5-day closures around the October and November new moons cover all coral reef fin fish
Closed now Reopens 11 Nov 2026. All coral reef fin fish (coral trout, cods and groupers, emperors and the other listed reef species) are closed for two 5-day periods around the October and November new moons, in tidal waters from Cape York south to 24°50′S. Rule as read from Queensland Department of Primary Industries on 2026-09-29.
The main line-caught reef fish of the Great Barrier Reef, holding on coral outcrops and reef edges from a few metres to 100 metres, and gathering to spawn around the new moons of spring and summer. Queensland sets a 38 cm minimum and a combined limit of 7 coral trout, and closes all coral reef fin fish for two 5-day periods in October and November.
When to come: the Cairns 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
Spanish mackerel
Coral trout
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 29 °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 Cairns today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 31 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 31 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 32 °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 fishing licence; the barramundi, Spanish mackerel and coral reef fin fish closures, the size and bag limits and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning apply, published by the Queensland Government and the marine park authority and linked below.
About this water
Cairns is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Cairns: the full guide
Cairns and its waters
Cairns sits on Trinity Inlet in far north Queensland with the Great Barrier Reef offshore and the wet tropics behind it, and its fishing runs from the mangrove creeks of the inlet and the Barron and Mulgrave rivers to the reef itself. The inlet and the creeks are barramundi, mangrove jack and grunter water, worked by boat and from the banks; the beaches north of the city and the headlands fish for queenfish, trevally and the odd mackerel; and the reef, an hour or more out, is the coral trout, nannygai and Spanish mackerel fishery that draws people from everywhere. The report on this page is scored for the city’s coordinates and reads the inlet and the coast first.
Seasons in the tropics
The north has two seasons, not four, and they run the fishing: the wet, broadly the summer months, when the rivers flood and the barramundi feed on the run-off as it eases, and the dry, when the seas settle and the reef becomes reachable. Barramundi are the prize, with the east coast closed season from 1 November to 31 January covering the summer spawning, no catch and release allowed; mangrove jack and grunter fish the creeks all year; queenfish and trevally the inlet mouth and the beaches; and Spanish mackerel run the reef and the headlands in the cooler months. North of latitude 22 degrees, Spanish mackerel also close for two stretches in October and November timed to the new moons, and coral reef fin fish close for two five-day periods in the same months; the Queensland Government publishes the dates for each year.
Reading this report for Cairns
The wind row is the trade wind: the south-easterly that blows through the dry season decides whether the reef is reachable and pushes the fishing into the inlet and the creeks when it is up. Pressure matters for barramundi more than for most fish, a falling barometer before a storm being the classic bite, and the sky and rain rows show the wet season arriving. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model; the creeks and the inlet run on big tropical tides, so use the curve for the direction and the Bureau of Meteorology prediction for the minute. Crocodiles live in all of this water.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the barramundi, Spanish mackerel and coral reef fin fish closures, the size and bag limits and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning apply, published by the Queensland Government and the marine park authority and linked below. Some local waters are closed to all fishing, including Barron Waters on the Barron River and the Centenary Lakes and their creeks in the city. The inlet foreshores and the northern beaches are public, and the state facility list has ramps on Smiths Creek at Portsmith, on the Barron at Stratford and Machans Beach, at Yorkeys Knob and at the Blue Water Marina; the reef is a charter or a serious boat.
Common questions
When is barramundi season in Cairns?
Barramundi are closed on the east coast from 1 November to 31 January, as the Queensland Government publishes; the run-off at the end of the wet is the classic time once the season reopens. The species card on this page scores the month and today’s weather.
Do I need a fishing licence in Cairns?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; the closed seasons, limits and marine park zones apply.
Is fishing good at Cairns 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 early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
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
- 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.