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.
Herbert River at Ingham Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Herbert at Ingham: barramundi, sooty grunter and jungle perch in the wet-tropics river through the cane, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Level
0.83 m
Air / High
26 °C / 33 °C
Wind
E 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 116001F, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Herbert River at Ingham is in full summer mode: early starts, shade at midday, and the evening change. The gauge reads 0.83 m, easing 0.06 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 5 km/h, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 33 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:13 PM-1:13 AM and 10:49 AM-12:49 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: 11:13 PM-1:13 AM, 10:49 AM-12:49 PM, 4:39 AM-5:39 AM. Similar at 31 °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 Herbert River at Ingham today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:32), sunset (18:26), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:13 PM-1:13 AM and 10:49 AM-12:49 PM; minor 4:39 AM-5:39 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 116001F (Herbert_R Ingham).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 116001F. Latest reading 2026-11-08 18:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low33 °C / 23 °C
WindE 4 km/h, gusts 11 km/h
Pressure1013.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain20% cloud, 78%
Sunrise / Sunset05:32 / 18:26
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Herbert River at Ingham
Today is the pick of the week on Herbert River at Ingham, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
- Solunar majors
- 11:13 PM-1:13 AM and 10:49 AM-12:49 PM
- Minor period
- 4:39 AM-5:39 AM
- Sun
- 05:32 to 18:26
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 78%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Herbert River at Ingham: 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.
When to come: the Herbert River at Ingham 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 Herbert River at Ingham 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 18 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 33 °C, wind to 14 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 13 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 for rivers.
About this water
Herbert River at Ingham is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Herbert River at Ingham: the full guide
The reach
The Herbert at Ingham is the wet-tropics river north of Townsville as it leaves the ranges and runs across the cane flats past the town toward Halifax and the Hinchinbrook Channel, with tidal reaches below. It is barramundi and sooty grunter water on the edge of the tide, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Ingham, station 116001F, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the page’s species, on snags, rock and deep bends in the warm months, under the Queensland east coast closure from 1 November to 31 January, computed on the species card. Sooty grunter have a 28 cm minimum. Jungle perch carry a 35 cm maximum size and a limit of one, shared with the spotted flagtail. Mangrove jack and other estuary fish belong to the tidal reaches below.
Where to fish it
Public reserves near the town give bank access, road crossings upstream reach the rockier water, and boats launched at the town or at Halifax cover the river down toward the channel. Snags and deep bends are the barramundi water, rock bars the grunter’s. Crocodiles are a risk in this part of Queensland, so fish from a safe distance back from the water’s edge and follow the Be Crocwise advice. Lucinda, at the channel, has its own page.
Reading the report
The chart shows a wet-tropics river that rises sharply in the wet season and falls to sand and pools through the dry; the rain row is the first thing to read. The modelled water temperature, labelled as an estimate, gives a long barramundi band, and the south-east trade wind crosses the open cane flats.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence for rivers. The size and possession limits, the barramundi closure and the jungle perch rules are on the Queensland Government pages linked below.
Wallaman Falls
Queensland Parks describes Wallaman Falls, in Girringun National Park 51 km south-west of Ingham, as the highest permanent single-drop waterfall in Australia. The park has a camping area; check the park alerts before you go, as camping areas and walking tracks there are subject to temporary closures. It is the natural day trip from an Ingham fishing base.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Herbert at Ingham?
Barramundi outside the 1 November to 31 January closure, sooty grunter on the rock bars and jungle perch, with mangrove jack in the tidal reaches.
Can I keep a jungle perch?
One at most, and no longer than 35 cm; the limit is shared with the spotted flagtail.
Is fishing good at Herbert River at Ingham 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
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 116001F — Herbert_R Ingham
- 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.