Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Kinchant Dam Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The off-stream barramundi dam behind Mackay: big fish over weed in a stocked lake exempt from the closure, with a permit, a camp and a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
56.53 m56,596 ML
Air / High
17 °C / 25 °C
Wind
SSE 10 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 126004A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Kinchant Dam is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. The gauge reads 56.53 m, easing 0.15 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSE around 10 km/h, steady pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 25 °C. 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.
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 26 °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 Kinchant Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:51), sunset (18:01), the moon and today's score. 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
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 126004A (Kinchant Dam HW).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 126004A. Latest reading 2026-09-24 11:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp17 °C
High / Low25 °C / 16 °C
WindSSE 10 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1025.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain38% cloud, 92%
Sunrise / Sunset05:51 / 18:01
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Kinchant Dam
The best day on Kinchant Dam this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today. 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: Sunday, 27 Sept — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
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
- 05:51 to 18:01
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 26 km/h
- Rain chance
- 92%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Kinchant 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 Kinchant 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. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
When to come: the Kinchant 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 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 Kinchant Dam 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. Barramundi led the card at fair. High of 26 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 26 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 26 °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
Kinchant is a Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme water; the permit, from age 18, costs A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year as read from the Queensland Government, with details on our Queensland licence page.
About this water
Kinchant Dam is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Kinchant Dam: the full guide
The lake
Kinchant Dam is an off-stream storage west of Mackay filled by channel from the Pioneer River, a broad, shallow, weedy lake in the cane country under the Eungella range with a camping and caravan park, a ramp and a reputation for some of the largest impoundment barramundi in the state. It is warm, weedy water made for the species, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the fish, in the weed beds and along the edges at dawn, dusk and at night from spring to autumn, and Kinchant is on the Queensland Government’s exempt list, so the closed season does not apply and the species card shows open all year with the rule linked; sooty grunter and sleepy cod are present, red claw are a pot fishery, and the stocking group publishes its releases. The lake is fed by channel and its level moves with the irrigation year rather than the river.
Where to fish it
The camping ground and the ramp are the access, and the weed beds across the shallow lake are the structure, fished from a boat with surface lures, weedless plastics and swimbaits at night in summer; the deeper water near the wall holds the fish in the cooler months. Bank fishing from the camp foreshore works at dusk.
Reading the report
The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the barramundi band from September to April in this warm, shallow lake; the chart shows the channel refill and the irrigation draw-down. Pressure counts, with a falling barometer before a storm the classic bite; the south-easterly through the dry ruffles the open water, and the wind row decides the launch.
Permits, access and rules
Kinchant is a Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme water; the permit, from age 18, costs A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year as read from the Queensland Government, with details on our Queensland licence page. The caravan park and the ramp are public; the Queensland rules are in the sources.
Common questions
Is Kinchant Dam exempt from the barramundi closed season?
Yes. The Queensland Government lists Kinchant among the exempt stocked dams; the species card shows open all year with the rule linked.
Do I need a permit at Kinchant Dam?
Yes, from age 18: the Stocked Impoundment Permit, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year.
Is fishing good at Kinchant Dam 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
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 126004A — Kinchant Dam HW
- 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.