Spanish mackerel
Excellent
Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
Innisfail Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The wet-tropics river town: the Johnstone River and its north and south branches, Flying Fish Point and Etty Bay, and the barramundi, jack and grunter of the cane country.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
Low 1:14 pm model
Air / High
19 °C / 25 °C
Wind
SSW 11 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Innisfail is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSW around 11 km/h, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 24 °C. Tides: high 7:17 am and 7:34 pm, low 1:28 am and 1:14 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 26 °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.
Barramundi
Good
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 24 °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 Innisfail today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:03), sunset (18:12), 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
LOW1:28 am-0.11 m
HIGH7:17 am1.40 m
LOW1:14 pm-0.22 m
HIGH7:34 pm1.84 m
Sat
LOW1:54 am-0.21 m
HIGH7:48 am1.51 m
LOW1:45 pm-0.17 m
HIGH7:54 pm1.80 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low25 °C / 19 °C
WindSSW 11 km/h, gusts 16 km/h
Pressure1022.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain60% cloud, 96%
Sunrise / Sunset06:03 / 18:12
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Innisfail
Today is the pick of the week on Innisfail, at 4 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 — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 25 Sept — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:03 to 18:12
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 96%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Innisfail: 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 now Closes 1 Nov 2026. 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. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Spanish mackerel
Winter and spring in the north; summer in NSW
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. Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
When to come: the Innisfail 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
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 26 °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 Innisfail today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 26 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 27 °C, wind to 14 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 barramundi closed season, the size and bag limits, the coral reef fin fish rules and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Innisfail is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Innisfail: the full guide
Innisfail and the Johnstone
Innisfail is the sugar town of the wet tropics between Cairns and Townsville, at the junction of the North and South Johnstone rivers, with the town’s wharves and the Jubilee Bridge on the river, the tidal Johnstone running out past Flying Fish Point to the Coral Sea, Etty Bay and the beaches to the south, and the rainforest ranges and the cane behind. It is the wettest town in Australia and its river floods every wet; it is also a barramundi, jack and grunter river and a beach coast, fished from the wharves, the walls and the beaches and from boats along the river and out to the reef. The report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the river snags, the walls and the mouth on the run-off and the build-up, with the east coast closed season through the summer spawning to check; mangrove jack fish the snags and the rock walls through the warm months and are the town’s summer fish; grunter, fingermark and queenfish fish the mouth and Flying Fish Point on the tide; and sooty grunter and jungle perch hold in the fresh reaches of the two branches under their rules. Mud crabs are a pot fishery in the mangroves, Spanish mackerel run the headlands and the reef in the cooler months, and Etty Bay gives whiting and flathead on the beach.
Reading this report here
Rain decides the river more than anywhere on the coast: a fresh colours it for days and a wet-season flood changes it for weeks, and the rain row is the first thing to read. The tide reaches the town and the tide panel, a modelled curve for these coordinates labelled as a model, is for the direction, with the Bureau of Meteorology for the times; the trade wind decides whether the reef and the coast are reachable; and pressure matters for barramundi, a falling barometer being the classic bite. Crocodiles live in the river and at the beaches.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the barramundi closed season, the size and bag limits, the coral reef fin fish rules and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning apply, on the pages linked below. The wharves, the walls, Flying Fish Point and Etty Bay are public, with ramps at the town, Flying Fish Point and the beaches.
Common questions
Do I need a fishing licence in Innisfail?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; closed seasons, limits and marine park zones apply.
What can I catch in the Johnstone River?
Barramundi on the run-off and the build-up, mangrove jack in the warm months, grunter, fingermark and queenfish at the mouth, sooty grunter in the fresh and mud crabs in the mangroves.
Is fishing good at Innisfail right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
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.