Barramundi
Closed today
Reopens 1 Feb 2027. Closed 7 October to 31 January in the Gulf of Carpentaria, tidal and fresh. No catch and release in the closure.
Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road: Gulf barramundi in the savanna country, with a Bureau gauge and the Gulf closure.
1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Level
1.49 m
Air / High
31 °C / 39 °C
Wind
NW 11 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 917014A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. The gauge reads 1.49 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 39 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:07 AM-1:07 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: 11:31 PM-1:31 AM, 11:07 AM-1:07 PM, 4:59 AM-5:59 AM. Similar at 38 °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 Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:51), sunset (18:42), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:07 AM-1:07 PM; minor 4:59 AM-5:59 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 917014A (Gilbert Rv Burke Rd).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 917014A. Latest reading 2026-11-08 16:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp31 °C
High / Low39 °C / 26 °C
WindNW 11 km/h, gusts 20 km/h
Pressure1010.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain5% cloud, 46%
Sunrise / Sunset05:51 / 18:42
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road
The best day on Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road this week looks like Saturday 14 Nov, at 3 out of 5, against 1 today.
Best day this week: Saturday, 14 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Slow
Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
- Solunar majors
- 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:07 AM-1:07 PM
- Minor period
- 4:59 AM-5:59 AM
- Sun
- 05:51 to 18:42
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 46%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road: 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 7 October to 31 January in the Gulf of Carpentaria, tidal and fresh. 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.
When to come: the Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road 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 Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 38 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 37 °C, wind to 23 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 35 °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
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the Gulf barramundi closed season, the limits and the crocodile advice are on the pages linked below..
About this water
Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road: the full guide
The Gilbert River
The Gilbert River runs across the savanna of the Gulf country in north Queensland from the ranges of the Gulf country to the Gulf of Carpentaria, a wide sandy river that runs hard in the wet and shrinks to channels and waterholes in the dry; the gauge sits where the Burke Developmental Road crosses it. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge there supplies the level of the Gilbert at the Burke Developmental Road and the 30-day chart on this page. Karumba has its own page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the fish of the Gilbert, in the waterholes and the channels, taken on lures; sooty grunter and catfish are also caught. The Gulf of Carpentaria barramundi closed season, 7 October to 31 January, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The crossing and the waterholes near it are the access, in the dry season when the roads are open. Estuarine crocodiles live in the Gulf rivers: stay back from the water.
Planning a visit
This is remote Gulf country: carry fuel, water and supplies, and check road conditions, which close in the wet. Normanton, to the west, is the nearest town with fuel and supplies.
The river through the year
The Gilbert is a Gulf river of extremes: in the wet it runs wide and fast across the savanna and can cut the roads for weeks, and in the dry it shrinks to sandy channels and permanent waterholes. The barramundi here move with the water, pushing upstream in the wet and the run-off and holding in the waterholes and the snags through the dry, and sooty grunter and catfish share the holes. The Gulf closed season for barramundi, from 7 October to 31 January, covers the build-up and the early wet; the species card computes it. The dry-season months, when the roads are open and the river is low and clear, are the months to visit. The Gilbert is remote water, and a trip here is planned around fuel, water and road conditions.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Gilbert’s wet-season flood and dry-season decline. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm all year; pressure and sky build the score on the Gilbert.
Licence, access and rules
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the Gulf barramundi closed season, the limits and the crocodile advice are on the pages linked below.
Common questions
Which barramundi closure applies on the Gilbert?
The Gulf season, 7 October to 31 January.
Are there crocodiles in the Gilbert?
Estuarine crocodiles live in the Gulf rivers; keep back from the water.
Do I need a licence here?
No. Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence, so the Gilbert at the Burke Developmental Road needs none.
Is fishing good at Gilbert River at the Burke Developmental Road right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 917014A — Gilbert Rv Burke Rd
- 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.