Tailor
Excellent
The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Fraser Island (K'gari) Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
K’gari: a sand island with a hundred kilometres of surf beach, where the tailor run each winter and the gutters change with every tide.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 12:51 pm model
Air / High
18 °C / 22 °C
Wind
ESE 15 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Fraser Island (K'gari) has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ESE around 16 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 22 °C. Tides: high 6:45 am and 6:58 pm, low 12:49 am and 12:51 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 17 °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.
Australian salmon
Good
The main season. Beach gutters, rock platforms and bay edges on the rising tide; metals, surf poppers and bait all work.
Mulloway
Fair
The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Yellowtail kingfish
Slow
The fish thin out as the current cools; jig the deeper offshore marks and work the harbours on the warmer afternoons.
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 22 °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 tailor here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Tailor page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Fraser Island (K'gari) today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:34), sunset (17:44), 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 10:25 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
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.
Fri
LOW12:49 am-0.92 m
HIGH6:45 am1.48 m
LOW12:51 pm-0.92 m
HIGH6:58 pm1.89 m
Sat
LOW1:17 am-1.01 m
HIGH7:15 am1.66 m
LOW1:28 pm-0.94 m
HIGH7:24 pm1.86 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low22 °C / 17 °C
WindESE 15 km/h, gusts 33 km/h
Pressure1028.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain52% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:34 / 17:44
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~17 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Fraser Island (K'gari)
Today is the pick of the week on Fraser Island (K'gari), 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
- 05:34 to 17:44
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Fraser Island (K'gari): seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; August to September on Fraser Island
The surf and rock fish of the east coast, running north in autumn and winter. Fast, toothy and best at dawn, dusk and into the dark. The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Mulloway
Best: summer and autumn, especially after rain
Jewfish. The big silver prize of the estuaries, breakwalls and surf beaches: nocturnal, tide-driven and unforgiving of noise. The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Yellowtail kingfish
Best: December to April
The hardest-pulling fish within reach of the shore. Headlands, harbour markers, offshore reefs and the warm current in summer. The fish thin out as the current cools; jig the deeper offshore marks and work the harbours on the warmer afternoons.
Australian salmon
Winter and spring on the southern beaches
Not a salmon at all: a hard-fighting schooling fish of the surf and the bays, from WA around to NSW. Great on light gear, poor on the plate. The main season. Beach gutters, rock platforms and bay edges on the rising tide; metals, surf poppers and bait all work.
When to come: the Fraser Island (K'gari) 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
Tailor
Mulloway
Yellowtail kingfish
Australian salmon
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 17 °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 Fraser Island (K'gari) 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. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 23 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 23 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 11 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 tailor closed season and area, and the Great Sandy Marine Park zoning apply, all on the Queensland Government pages linked below.
About this water
Fraser Island (K'gari) is a bay or coastal water in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Fraser Island (K'gari): the full guide
The island and its beach
Fraser Island, K’gari to its traditional owners and in its official name, is the largest sand island in the world, and for anglers it is one beach: the eastern surf beach that runs from Hook Point in the south to Sandy Cape in the north, driven on four-wheel-drive tracks and fished from the gutters that form and re-form along its length. The western side faces Hervey Bay and is calmer and shallower; the northern end has Waddy Point and Indian Head, the rock platforms where the island’s land-based game fishing happens. The report on this page is scored for the island’s coordinates and reads the ocean beach first.
Species by season
Tailor are the fish the island is famous for: the winter run up the eastern beach, with the biggest fish late in the season around the northern headlands, and a closed area and season the Queensland Government publishes for the spawning fish. Dart and whiting fish the gutters in the warmer months, bream and flathead the western side and the creeks, and the headlands give trevally, tuna and the occasional pelagic to the rock anglers. Mulloway are the night fish of the deeper gutters, and the western beaches face the whale-watching water of Hervey Bay, which has its own page.
Reading this report for the island
The beach is the whole game and the wind and swell run it: a south-easterly builds the surf and fills the gutters with weed, a westerly flattens the eastern beach and is the day to be there. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day; the tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and on a surf beach it is the falling tide that fishes the gutters, so use the curve for the direction and the Bureau of Meteorology prediction for the times. The beach is also the road, and the tide decides when it can be driven.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits, the tailor closed season and area, and the Great Sandy Marine Park zoning apply, all on the Queensland Government pages linked below. Access is by vehicle barge from Inskip Point or River Heads and needs a vehicle access permit for the island, published by the parks service; the beach is the road and the camping is permitted in zones.
Common questions
When do the tailor run on Fraser Island?
In winter, up the eastern beach, with the season peaking toward the northern headlands; the Queensland Government publishes a closed area and season for the spawning fish, linked in the sources.
Do I need a licence to fish on Fraser Island?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; the marine park zones, size and bag limits and the tailor closure apply, and a vehicle access permit is needed to drive on the island.
Is fishing good at Fraser Island (K'gari) 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
- 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
- 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.