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.
Lucinda Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The sugar jetty and the Hinchinbrook Channel: a loading jetty that runs kilometres out to sea, the channel’s barra and jacks, and the reef beyond Hinchinbrook Island.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 3:02 pm model
Air / High
27 °C / 32 °C
Wind
NNE 10 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lucinda is in full summer mode: early starts, shade at midday, and the evening change. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 32 °C. Tides: high 8:21 am and 7:53 pm, low 1:58 am and 3:02 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. 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.
Spanish mackerel
Closed today
Reopens 28 Nov 2026. East coast waters north of 22°S (just north of Stanage Bay) close to Spanish mackerel for two three-week periods set by the October and November new moons; do not target them then.
Coral trout
Closed today
Reopens 11 Nov 2026. All coral reef fin fish (coral trout, cods and groupers, emperors and the other listed reef species) are closed for two 5-day periods around the October and November new moons, in tidal waters from Cape York south to 24°50′S.
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, 4:38 AM-5:38 AM. Similar at 30 °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 Lucinda today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:31), sunset (18:25), 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 11:13 PM-1:13 AM and 10:49 AM-12:49 PM; minor 4:38 AM-5:38 AM. New Moon, 0% 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.
Mon
LOW1:58 am-0.62 m
HIGH8:21 am1.60 m
LOW3:02 pm0.04 m
HIGH7:53 pm1.10 m
Tue
LOW2:19 am-0.53 m
HIGH8:56 am1.56 m
LOW3:43 pm0.20 m
HIGH8:15 pm0.93 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp27 °C
High / Low32 °C / 24 °C
WindNNE 10 km/h, gusts 20 km/h
Pressure1013.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain20% cloud, 64%
Sunrise / Sunset05:31 / 18:25
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lucinda
The best day on Lucinda 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
- 11:13 PM-1:13 AM and 10:49 AM-12:49 PM
- Minor period
- 4:38 AM-5:38 AM
- Sun
- 05:31 to 18:25
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 64%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lucinda: 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.
Spanish mackerel
Winter and spring in the north; summer in NSW
Closed now Reopens 28 Nov 2026. East coast waters north of 22°S (just north of Stanage Bay) close to Spanish mackerel for two three-week periods set by the October and November new moons; do not target them then. Rule as read from Queensland Department of Primary Industries on 2026-09-27.
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.
Coral trout
Year-round on the reef; in Queensland two 5-day closures around the October and November new moons cover all coral reef fin fish
Closed now Reopens 11 Nov 2026. All coral reef fin fish (coral trout, cods and groupers, emperors and the other listed reef species) are closed for two 5-day periods around the October and November new moons, in tidal waters from Cape York south to 24°50′S. Rule as read from Queensland Department of Primary Industries on 2026-09-29.
The main line-caught reef fish of the Great Barrier Reef, holding on coral outcrops and reef edges from a few metres to 100 metres, and gathering to spawn around the new moons of spring and summer. Queensland sets a 38 cm minimum and a combined limit of 7 coral trout, and closes all coral reef fin fish for two 5-day periods in October and November.
When to come: the Lucinda 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
Coral trout
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 Lucinda 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 19 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 18 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 33 °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
Line fishing at Lucinda needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits, the northern Spanish mackerel closures in October and November and the marine park zoning of the channel apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Lucinda is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lucinda: the full guide
Lucinda and the channel
Lucinda is the village at the southern end of the Hinchinbrook Channel north of Townsville, with the bulk sugar terminal’s jetty running kilometres out to sea, the channel and its mangrove creeks between the mainland and Hinchinbrook Island, the Herbert River mouth to the south and the reef outside the island. It is a channel village in the shadow of the island, and the report on this page is scored for the village’s coordinates. The Herbert River at Ingham and Cardwell have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the channel’s creeks, the drains and the snags and are the channel’s fish outside the east coast closed season, which runs from 1 November to 31 January; mangrove jack fish the snags in summer; fingermark and grunter fish the channel holes; queenfish and trevally work the jetty and the channel; Spanish mackerel run the jetty and the reef in the cooler months; mud crabs work the creeks under the pot rules; and the reef gives coral trout and red emperor for the boats. The jetty itself is off limits and the fishing is around it.
Where to fish it
The ramps at Lucinda put a boat into the Hinchinbrook Channel, and the mangrove creeks on the island side and the mainland drains are the barra and jack water on the last of the run-out; the channel’s deep holes off the jetty are the fingermark and grunter marks at night. The jetty itself is closed, and the fishing is around it by boat.
Reading this report here
The island shelters the channel from the south-easterly and the creeks fish in most weather; the wind row matters for the run out to the reef. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Lucinda, labelled as a model, and the channel and the creeks run hard on it, with the last of the run-out the barra tide. Pressure and sky build the score at Lucinda; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing at Lucinda needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits, the northern Spanish mackerel closures in October and November and the marine park zoning of the channel apply, on the pages linked below. The foreshore and the ramps are public; the jetty is a working port and closed to the public.
Common questions
Can I fish from the Lucinda jetty?
No. The sugar jetty is a working port and closed to the public; the fishing is around it by boat, and in the channel and the creeks.
Do I need a licence at Lucinda?
No. Lucinda’s channel and creeks need no licence, but Queensland’s closed seasons and limits do apply.
Is fishing good at Lucinda 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
- 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
- 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.