Barramundi
Excellent
Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
Lake Maraboon at Emerald, Queensland’s second-biggest storage: stocked barramundi and golden perch, exempt from the barramundi closure, with a Sunwater ramp and private camping.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
196.13 m390,170 ML
Air / High
26 °C / 31 °C
Wind
NE 9 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 130216A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. The gauge reads 196.13 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 31 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:05 PM-1:05 AM and 10:41 AM-12:41 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.
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: 11:05 PM-1:05 AM, 10:41 AM-12:41 PM, 4:22 AM-5:22 AM. Similar at 32 °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 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 Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:17), sunset (18:25), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:05 PM-1:05 AM and 10:41 AM-12:41 PM; minor 4:22 AM-5:22 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Fairbairn Dam Level today, and the weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 130216A (Fairbairn Dam).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 130216A. Latest reading 2026-11-08 11:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low31 °C / 17 °C
WindNE 9 km/h, gusts 16 km/h
Pressure1014.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:17 / 18:25
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam)
The best day on Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:05 PM-1:05 AM and 10:41 AM-12:41 PM
- Minor period
- 4:22 AM-5:22 AM
- Sun
- 05:17 to 18:25
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam): 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 all year Fairbairn Dam is a stocked dam exempt from the closed season 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. Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
When to come: the Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) 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 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 Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) 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 32 °C, wind to 16 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 35 °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 34 °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
Line fishing at Lake Maraboon needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit if you are 18 or over; a weekly permit is A$13.60 and an annual one A$64.58, with a concession rate for eligible card holders.
Permit
Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) is in Queensland’s Stocked Impoundment Permit scheme: anyone 18 or over fishing it with a line needs the permit, and one permit covers every scheme water. What the permit costs and where to buy it. Compare it with every other storage in the state on Queensland dam levels today.
About this water
Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam): the full guide
The lake
Fairbairn Dam on the Nogoa River forms Lake Maraboon near Emerald in central Queensland. Sunwater describes it as the state’s second biggest dam after Burdekin Falls, completed in 1972 and holding 1,301,000 megalitres; Maraboon is a local Aboriginal name that Sunwater translates as where the black ducks fly. The dam was built after sorghum cropping proved the region’s black soils, and it stores water for irrigation, industry and towns. The Bureau of Meteorology’s station at the dam, 130216A, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
The Queensland Government’s stocking list for Fairbairn Dam names barramundi and golden perch. Barramundi are exempt from the 1 November to 31 January closure here, so the species card shows them open all year. Golden perch handle cooler water better and are a good target when a cold snap slows the barramundi. Other species may turn up, but those two are what the permit money puts in the lake.
Where to fish it
In a big, open impoundment, points, drowned timber and creek arms concentrate fish. Troll or cast suspending hardbodies and swimbaits for barramundi around timber edges at low light; for golden perch, hop lipless crankbaits or soft vibes near the bottom or fish a live shrimp or yabby beside snags. Sunwater does not allow fishing on or near the dam wall, and boats keep 200 metres from it.
Reading the report
The chart shows how the irrigation season draws the lake down, which can change the shoreline a long way on flat ground. The estimated water temperature row separates the warm barramundi months from the cooler period when golden perch are the better bet. Wind crosses open country freely, so check it before a long run.
Permits, access and rules
Line fishing at Lake Maraboon needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit if you are 18 or over; a weekly permit is A$13.60 and an annual one A$64.58, with a concession rate for eligible card holders. Sunwater owns and manages the recreation facilities and boat ramp, and private operators run camping and accommodation in the designated area.
Common questions
Is barramundi open all year at Fairbairn Dam?
Yes. Fairbairn is exempt from the Queensland barramundi closed season, and the species card shows it open all year.
What fish are stocked in Lake Maraboon?
Barramundi and golden perch, according to the Queensland Government’s stocked impoundment list.
Is fishing good at Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam) right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 130216A — Fairbairn Dam
- 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.