Dawson River at Baralaba Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Dawson at Baralaba: golden perch, saratoga and barramundi in the Neville Hewitt weir pool of central Queensland, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~13 °C est.
Air / High
18 °C / 29 °C
Wind
E 10 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 130304A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Dawson River at Baralaba has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 10 km/h, steady pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 28 °C. Water sits around 13 °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 27 °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 golden perch here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Golden perch page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Dawson River at Baralaba today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:47), sunset (17:57), 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 130304A (Dawson_R Baralaba).
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Bureau of Meteorology station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low29 °C / 16 °C
WindE 10 km/h, gusts 21 km/h
Pressure1028.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain12% cloud, 37%
Sunrise / Sunset05:47 / 17:57
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Dawson River at Baralaba
Today is the pick of the week on Dawson River at Baralaba, at 3 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 — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
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
- 05:47 to 17:57
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 24 km/h
- Rain chance
- 37%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Dawson River at Baralaba: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
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 Dawson River at Baralaba 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
Golden perch
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 13 °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 Dawson River at Baralaba 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. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 29 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 29 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 31 °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
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits and the barramundi closure apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Dawson River at Baralaba is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Dawson River at Baralaba: the full guide
The reach
The Dawson at Baralaba is the central Queensland river held into a long pool by the Neville Hewitt Weir beside the coal-mining town, running between river gums and black soil toward Moura and the Fitzroy, with the town’s river park, the weir and the reaches of snags upstream toward Theodore. It is perch and saratoga water on a weir pool, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Baralaba supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Golden perch are the fish, on the snags and the deep bends from spring to autumn; saratoga fish the surface along the timber at dawn and dusk; barramundi are stocked into the weir pools of the Dawson and hold in the deep water, with the Queensland east coast closure computed on the species card; sleepy cod, spangled perch and eel-tailed catfish are present; and red claw are a pot fishery. Carp are few.
Where to fish it
The river park and the weir give bank access at the town, the water below the weir is the barramundi and perch hole, and a boat or a kayak covers the weir pool upstream through the timber; the deep bends and the snags are the water. Night fishing along the pool’s snags is the summer method.
Reading the report
The weir holds the pool nearly steady, so the chart moves little except in a flood, when the Dawson can rise a long way; the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the perch band from October to April. The open country lets the wind cross the river; pressure counts before a summer storm.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits and the barramundi closure apply, on the pages linked below. The park and the weir surrounds are public; the weir has its exclusion zone.
Downstream to Moura and the Fitzroy
Below Baralaba the Dawson runs on through Moura and its weir to join the Mackenzie and become the Fitzroy above Rockhampton, and the Moura weir pool is another barramundi and perch water an hour south; the Fitzroy at Riverslea, where the joined river runs toward the city, has its own page. The Dawson floods the black-soil plain in a big wet and the chart on this page shows it.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Dawson at Baralaba?
Golden perch, saratoga, stocked barramundi in the weir pool outside the closure, sleepy cod and catfish, and red claw in the pots.
Do I need a licence at Baralaba?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; the limits and the barramundi closure apply.
Is fishing good at Dawson River at Baralaba 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
- 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.