Barramundi
Good
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Daintree River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Daintree above the ferry: barramundi, mangrove jack and jungle perch in the rainforest river of the far north, with the Bureau’s gauge at Bairds.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
3.29 m
Air / High
19 °C / 25 °C
Wind
SE 14 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 108002A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Daintree River sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. The gauge reads 3.29 m, up 0.18 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 14 km/h, steady pressure near 1022 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 Daintree River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:06), sunset (18:14), 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 108002A (Daintree_R Bairds).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 108002A. Latest reading 2026-09-24 19:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low25 °C / 19 °C
WindSE 14 km/h, gusts 38 km/h
Pressure1021.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset06:06 / 18:14
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Daintree River
Today is the pick of the week on Daintree River, 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, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
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
- 06:06 to 18:14
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Daintree River: 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 now Closes 1 Nov 2026. 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. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
When to come: the Daintree River 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 Daintree River 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 22 °C, wind to 18 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 24 °C, wind to 14 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 25 °C, wind to 16 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 size and bag limits, the barramundi closure and the jungle perch rules apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Daintree River is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Daintree River: the full guide
The reach
The Daintree is the rainforest river of the far north between Mossman and the Cape Tribulation road, tidal from the ferry crossing to the sea and fresh above it through the Daintree village reach and the valley’s cane and cattle flats under the Thornton Range. It is barramundi and jack water with jungle perch in the clear upper reaches, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Bairds, above the village, supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the snags, the rock and the deep bends from the tidal limit up through the village reach in the warm months, with the Queensland east coast closure from 1 November to 31 January computed on the species card; mangrove jack fish the snags of the tidal river; jungle perch are in the clear upper reaches and the creeks under their rules; sooty grunter are on the rock; and the estuary at the ferry gives the tropical estuary fish. Crocodiles are everywhere on the Daintree and the signs say so.
Where to fish it
The village foreshore and the crossings give bank access to the fresh reaches, a boat launched at the village or the ferry covers the river down to the mouth, and the crocodile cruises share the water; the snags and the deep bends are the barramundi and jack water. Bank fishing here means staying well back from the water.
Reading the report
The chart shows a wet-tropics river that rises fast after the range’s rain and falls back within days; the rain row is the first thing to read in one of the wettest valleys in the country. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives a long barramundi band; the range shelters the water; pressure counts before a storm.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits, the barramundi closure and the jungle perch rules apply, on the pages linked below. The foreshore and the crossings are public; the Daintree National Park rules apply on its banks.
Common questions
Is it safe to fish the Daintree from the bank?
Only well back from the water: the Daintree has saltwater crocodiles along its length and the signs apply. A boat is the usual way to fish it.
Do I need a licence on the Daintree?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; the limits, the closure and the jungle perch rules apply.
Is fishing good at Daintree River 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 108002A — Daintree_R Bairds
- 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.