Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Lake Julius Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Leichhardt River dam north of Mount Isa: barramundi and sooty grunter in a Gulf-country lake exempt from the Gulf closure, with a camp and a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~26 °C est.
Air / High
24 °C / 30 °C
Wind
SE 15 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 913015A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Julius is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 14 km/h, steady pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 31 °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 30 °C. 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 Lake Julius today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:28), sunset (18:37), 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 913015A (Julius Dam HW).
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Bureau of Meteorology station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp24 °C
High / Low30 °C / 20 °C
WindSE 15 km/h, gusts 27 km/h
Pressure1020.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset06:28 / 18:37
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Julius
The best day on Lake Julius this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 4 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: Saturday, 26 Sept — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
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
- 06:28 to 18:37
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 6%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Julius: 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 Lake Julius is a Gulf 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 Lake Julius 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 Lake Julius 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. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 31 °C, wind to 23 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 32 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at fair. High of 33 °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; Lake Julius is exempt from the Gulf barramundi closure per the Queensland Government, and this site has not confirmed whether the Stocked Impoundment Permit applies, so the Queensland Government page in the sources is the one to check.
About this water
Lake Julius is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Julius: the full guide
The lake
Lake Julius holds the Leichhardt River north of Mount Isa in the north-west of Queensland, a storage in rocky Gulf country that supplies the city and the mines, with a camping ground, a ramp and a lake of rock, spinifex and drowned timber reached by a gravel road from the Barkly Highway. It is barramundi and sooty grunter water in the Gulf drainage, 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 stocked and fish the rock bars, the timber and the points at dawn, dusk and at night in the warm months, and Lake Julius is on the Queensland Government’s list of Gulf dams exempt from the Gulf closure of 7 October to 31 January, so the chip on the species card reads open all year with the rule linked; sooty grunter are on every rocky point, and red claw are a pot fishery. Whether the lake is on the Stocked Impoundment Permit list is not something this site has confirmed. Crocodiles are recorded in the lake.
Where to fish it
The camping ground and the ramp at the wall are the access, and the rocky points and the timber in the arms are the barramundi and grunter water, a boat fishery in a lake with long, open reaches; the deep water off the wall holds the fish in the dry. Bank fishing from the camp works at dusk, and the road in is gravel and closed after rain.
Reading the report
The north-west is hot for most of the year and the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives a long barramundi band; the chart shows the supply draw-down and the wet-season fill. The open country lets the wind cross the lake and the wind row decides the launch; pressure counts before a storm, and the rain row tells you whether the road is passable.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; Lake Julius is exempt from the Gulf barramundi closure per the Queensland Government, and this site has not confirmed whether the Stocked Impoundment Permit applies, so the Queensland Government page in the sources is the one to check. The camping ground and the ramp are open under the water authority’s rules; the Queensland size and bag rules apply.
Common questions
Is barramundi open all year at Lake Julius?
Yes. The Queensland Government lists Lake Julius among the Gulf dams exempt from the 7 October to 31 January closure; the species card shows it with the rule linked.
How do I get to Lake Julius?
By gravel road north from the Barkly Highway east of Mount Isa; the road closes after rain and the camping ground is at the wall.
Is fishing good at Lake Julius 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
- 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.