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.
Emu Park Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Capricorn Coast south of Yeppoon: Emu Park’s rocks and beaches, Kinka and Zilzie, and the Keppel islands, with whiting, bream, mackerel and the reef.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
Low 3:53 pm model
Air / High
24 °C / 27 °C
Wind
ENE 12 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Emu Park is in full summer mode: early starts, shade at midday, and the evening change. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ENE around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Tides: high 9:23 am and 9:37 pm, low 3:09 am and 3:53 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 10:30 AM-12:30 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 AM: plan around them and beat the heat.
Spanish mackerel
Fair
Troll rigged garfish or lures over the reef edges and shoals at first light; float-line a live bait through the middle of the day.
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: 10:30 AM-12:30 PM, 10:52 PM-12:52 AM, 4:12 AM-5:12 AM. Similar 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 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 Emu Park today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:07), sunset (18:14), 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 10:30 AM-12:30 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 AM; minor 4:12 AM-5:12 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
LOW3:09 am-1.40 m
HIGH9:23 am2.65 m
LOW3:53 pm-1.18 m
HIGH9:37 pm1.88 m
Tue
LOW3:41 am-1.24 m
HIGH10:00 am2.54 m
LOW4:24 pm-1.14 m
HIGH10:15 pm1.65 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp24 °C
High / Low27 °C / 22 °C
WindENE 12 km/h, gusts 23 km/h
Pressure1017.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain37% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:07 / 18:14
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 Emu Park
Today is the pick of the week on Emu Park, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
- Solunar majors
- 10:30 AM-12:30 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 AM
- Minor period
- 4:12 AM-5:12 AM
- Sun
- 05:07 to 18:14
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Emu Park: 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
Open now Closes 1 Feb 2027. East coast waters south of 22°S close to Spanish mackerel from 1 to 21 February and from 1 to 21 March each year. 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. Troll rigged garfish or lures over the reef edges and shoals at first light; float-line a live bait through the middle of the day.
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 Emu Park 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 Emu Park 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 33 °C, wind to 21 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 19 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 31 °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, at Emu Park or anywhere; the barramundi closed season, the Spanish mackerel closures from 1 to 21 February and 1 to 21 March, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits, the crab rules and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning of the Keppels apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Emu Park is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Emu Park: the full guide
Emu Park and the coast
Emu Park is the seaside town on the Capricorn Coast south of Yeppoon, with the rock platforms and headlands of the town, Kinka Beach to the north, Zilzie and Coorooman Creek to the south, the Keppel islands across the water and the reef beyond them. It is a rocks-and-beach town facing islands, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Yeppoon and Rockhampton have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Whiting fish Kinka Beach and the sand all year and are the town’s fish; bream fish the platforms and Coorooman Creek; flathead lie in the beach gutters and the creek; Spanish mackerel run the headlands and the islands in the cooler months; grunter fish the creek holes; barramundi are taken in the creek outside the 1 November to 31 January closed season; mud crabs work the creek under the pot rules; and the reef gives coral trout and red emperor for the boats out of Coorooman Creek or Rosslyn Bay. The Keppels carry marine park green zones where no fishing is allowed.
Where to fish it
The rock platforms under the town from Fisherman’s Beach to the Singing Ship lookout are the bream and mackerel rocks, fished on the rising tide, and Kinka Beach north of the town is the whiting sand; Coorooman Creek south of Zilzie is the barra, grunter and crab water for small boats and the ramp for the run to the Keppels. Rosslyn Bay to the north is the harbour for the bigger boats.
Reading this report here
The coast faces east and a south-easterly builds the sea and closes the platforms and the beaches, while a westerly flattens it and the creek is the fallback; the wind row tells you which. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Emu Park, labelled as a model, and the range is large. Pressure and sky build the score at Emu Park; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Queensland has no general fishing licence, at Emu Park or anywhere; the barramundi closed season, the Spanish mackerel closures from 1 to 21 February and 1 to 21 March, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits, the crab rules and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning of the Keppels apply, on the pages linked below. The platforms, the beaches and the creek are public, with ramps at Coorooman Creek and Rosslyn Bay.
Common questions
What can I catch at Emu Park?
Whiting on Kinka Beach, bream on the platforms, mackerel off the headlands in the cooler months, grunter and barramundi in Coorooman Creek, reef fish for the boats.
Do I need a licence at Emu Park?
No. The Capricorn Coast needs no fishing licence; closed seasons, limits and the zoning around the Keppels still apply.
Is fishing good at Emu Park 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.