Dawson River at Taroom Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Dawson at Taroom: golden perch and saratoga in the central Queensland river, with a Bureau gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.68 m
Air / High
17 °C / 26 °C
Wind
ENE 14 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 130302A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Dawson River at Taroom is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 0.68 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 13 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 27 °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 26 °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 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 Taroom today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:47), sunset (17:58), 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 130302A (Dawson_R Taroom).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 130302A. Latest reading 2026-09-24 18:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp17 °C
High / Low26 °C / 13 °C
WindENE 14 km/h, gusts 25 km/h
Pressure1028.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain5% cloud, 18%
Sunrise / Sunset05:47 / 17:58
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Dawson River at Taroom
Today is the pick of the week on Dawson River at Taroom, 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 17:58
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 18%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Dawson River at Taroom: 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 Taroom 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 Taroom 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 28 °C, wind to 19 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 32 °C, wind to 19 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
No general fishing licence is needed in Queensland; the size and bag limits apply, on the pages linked below..
About this water
Dawson River at Taroom is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Dawson River at Taroom: the full guide
The Dawson at Taroom
Taroom is the cattle town on the upper Dawson River in central Queensland, where the river winds between coolibah and river red gums through the brigalow country, with the famous coolibah tree carved by Leichhardt in the main street. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Taroom supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Dawson at Theodore and Baralaba have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Golden perch are the fish most anglers catch in the Dawson at Taroom, on shrimp and lures along the snags; saratoga and sleepy cod are also found. The Dawson flows to the Fitzroy and the Pacific, outside the Murray-Darling, so no cod closure applies; the Queensland size and bag limits do.
Where to fish it
The crossings and the reserves near Taroom give access to the Dawson’s waterholes, and the river is fished from the bank in the pools.
Planning a visit
Taroom is on the Leichhardt Highway, with supplies and camping. Bring bait for golden perch and small lures for saratoga, and water for the heat.
The river through the year
The Dawson rises in the ranges of central Queensland and runs north through Taroom, Theodore and Baralaba to the Fitzroy, which reaches the sea at Rockhampton; it is east-flowing water, outside the Murray-Darling, so its fish are those of the Fitzroy system. At Taroom it is a chain of long waterholes for much of the year, joined and set running by the summer wet, when heavy rain can flood it across the flats. Golden perch feed on a rising river in the warm months, and southern saratoga hold under the banks and the overhanging trees in the clearer water. The winter dry is quieter, with the fish holding in the deeper holes. There is no cod here: the Dawson is not Murray-Darling water. The Leichhardt Tree and the river reserves make the town a good stop.
Reading this report here
The chart shows whether the Dawson is flowing or down to waterholes; a flow after storms brings the fish on. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Taroom.
Licence, access and rules
No general fishing licence is needed in Queensland; the size and bag limits apply, on the pages linked below.
Common questions
What can I catch at Taroom?
Golden perch, with saratoga and sleepy cod.
Is there a cod closure on the Dawson?
No; the Dawson is outside the Murray-Darling, where Queensland’s cod closure applies.
Do I need a licence at Taroom?
No. Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence.
Is fishing good at Dawson River at Taroom 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
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 130302A — Dawson_R Taroom
- 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.