Barramundi
Excellent
Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
Kolan River at Springfield Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The upper Kolan River at Springfield above Lake Monduran: a small inflow river to a stocked barramundi dam, with a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
1.57 m
Air / High
19 °C / 26 °C
Wind
NE 8 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 135002A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Kolan River at Springfield runs hot and bright: the fish feed early, late and deep. The gauge reads 1.57 m, up 0.33 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NE around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 26 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 10:27 AM-12:27 PM and 10:49 PM-12:49 AM: 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: 10:27 AM-12:27 PM, 10:49 PM-12:49 AM, 4:06 AM-5:06 AM. Warmer at 29 °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 Kolan River at Springfield today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:01), sunset (18:13), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:27 AM-12:27 PM and 10:49 PM-12:49 AM; minor 4:06 AM-5:06 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 135002A (Kolan_R Springfield).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 135002A. Latest reading 2026-11-08 18:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low26 °C / 19 °C
WindNE 8 km/h, gusts 18 km/h
Pressure1018.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain26% cloud, 93%
Sunrise / Sunset05:01 / 18:13
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Kolan River at Springfield
The best day on Kolan River at Springfield this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:27 AM-12:27 PM and 10:49 PM-12:49 AM
- Minor period
- 4:06 AM-5:06 AM
- Sun
- 05:01 to 18:13
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 93%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Kolan River at Springfield: 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 The Springfield gauge is upstream of Lake Monduran (Fred Haigh Dam), and the Queensland Government exempts the dam and the rivers upstream of it 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. Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
When to come: the Kolan River at Springfield 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 Kolan River at Springfield 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 32 °C, wind to 13 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 32 °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 31 °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, and the river at Springfield is not a stocked impoundment; Lake Monduran is, and needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit from age 18.
About this water
Kolan River at Springfield is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Kolan River at Springfield: the full guide
The Kolan at Springfield
The Springfield gauge is on the upper Kolan River, north-west of Gin Gin in the country behind Bundaberg, upstream of Lake Monduran, the lake Fred Haigh Dam holds on the Kolan. Below the dam the river runs on to Bucca Weir, 38 km from the mouth, and the Kolan Barrage, 14.5 km from the mouth. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Springfield, station 135002A, supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Monduran has its own page.
Species and seasons
Lake Monduran downstream is on the Queensland Government’s stocked impoundment list for barramundi and Australian bass, and barramundi are the species this page scores. Queensland’s freshwater closure for barramundi, 1 November to 31 January, does not apply in Fred Haigh Dam or in the waterways upstream of it, which takes in this reach; the Queensland size and bag limits still apply.
Where to fish it
The upper Kolan is a small river through grazing and cane country, and much of its frontage is private, so fish from road crossings and public land and ask before crossing paddocks. Work lures slowly past snags and along weed edges in the deeper holes, where any fish in a small river will sit.
Planning a visit
Gin Gin and Bundaberg have supplies, and the recreation facilities at Lake Monduran are run by Bundaberg Regional Council. A trip here is best combined with the lake, which is the main fishery.
The river through the year
The upper Kolan runs with the summer rain and drops back to pools in the dry, and the chart at Springfield shows the flows that go on to fill Lake Monduran. A strong summer flow is when fish are most likely to move in the river; in the dry months it is small and clear.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the upper Kolan’s flow into Lake Monduran. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm for most of the year; pressure and sky build the score at Springfield.
Licence, access and rules
Queensland has no general fishing licence, and the river at Springfield is not a stocked impoundment; Lake Monduran is, and needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit from age 18. The closed seasons and limits are on the pages linked below.
Common questions
Is barramundi closed in the Kolan at Springfield in summer?
No. Queensland’s 1 November to 31 January freshwater closure does not apply in Fred Haigh Dam or the waterways upstream of it.
Is Springfield above or below Lake Monduran?
Above it: the Springfield gauge measures the upper Kolan flowing into the lake.
Do I need a permit at Springfield?
Not in the river; Lake Monduran downstream needs a Stocked Impoundment Permit from age 18.
Is fishing good at Kolan River at Springfield right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 135002A — Kolan_R Springfield
- 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.