Spanish mackerel
Excellent
Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
Mission Beach Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Cassowary Coast beaches and Dunk Island: whiting and dart on the beach, barra and jacks in the creeks, mackerel and reef fish from Clump Point.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
Low 1:21 pm model
Air / High
19 °C / 24 °C
Wind
SSE 17 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Mission Beach is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSE around 18 km/h, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 24 °C. Tides: high 7:18 am and 7:39 pm, low 1:32 am and 1:21 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 23 °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 Mission Beach 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
LOW1:32 am-0.18 m
HIGH7:18 am1.51 m
LOW1:21 pm-0.28 m
HIGH7:39 pm1.96 m
Sat
LOW1:59 am-0.29 m
HIGH7:51 am1.62 m
LOW1:54 pm-0.25 m
HIGH8:00 pm1.92 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low24 °C / 19 °C
WindSSE 17 km/h, gusts 33 km/h
Pressure1023.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain55% cloud, 92%
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 Mission Beach
Today is the pick of the week on Mission Beach, 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, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 92%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Mission Beach: 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 Mission Beach 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 Mission Beach 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 23 °C, wind to 21 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 25 °C, wind to 18 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 26 °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 Mission Beach needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits and the marine park zoning around Dunk apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Mission Beach is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Mission Beach: the full guide
Mission Beach and Dunk
Mission Beach is the string of villages on the Cassowary Coast between Tully and Innisfail, with the long beach from South Mission to Bingil Bay, Clump Point and its ramp and jetty, Dunk Island across the water, the creeks of Hull River and Wongaling behind the beach and the rainforest coming down to the sand. It is a beach-and-creek coast facing an island, and the report on this page is scored for the villages’ coordinates. Innisfail has its own page.
Species and seasons
Whiting and dart fish the beach and the creek mouths all year and are the beach’s fish; barramundi fish the Hull River and the creeks in the warm season under the closed season; mangrove jack fish the creek snags in summer; grunter and bream fish the creek holes; queenfish and trevally work Clump Point and the island; Spanish mackerel run the island and the reef in the cooler months; mud crabs work the creeks; and the reef gives coral trout and red emperor for the boats out of Clump Point. The Hull River mouth is the local mark.
Where to fish it
The Clump Point jetty and the rocks are the trevally and queenfish marks, fished at dawn, and the Hull River mouth at South Mission and Wongaling Creek are the barra and jack water for small boats; the beach from South Mission to Bingil Bay is the whiting and dart sand on the rising tide. The ramps are at Clump Point and the Hull River, and Dunk Island is a short run for the reef fishers.
Reading this report here
The coast faces east and a south-easterly builds the surf and closes the beach, while a northerly flattens it and the creeks are the fallback; the wind row tells you which. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Mission Beach, labelled as a model, and the creeks run on it. Pressure and sky build the score at Mission Beach, and the rain row matters in the wet season; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing at Mission Beach needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits and the marine park zoning around Dunk apply, on the pages linked below. The beach, the jetty and the creeks are public, with ramps at Clump Point and the Hull River; the crocodile and stinger warnings are the other rules to read.
Common questions
What can I catch at Mission Beach?
Whiting and dart on the beach, barramundi and mangrove jack in the creeks in the warm season, mackerel off Dunk in the cooler months, reef fish for the boats.
Do I need a licence at Mission Beach?
No. Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and the closed seasons still apply.
Is fishing good at Mission Beach 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.