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.
Paradise Dam Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
Paradise Dam on the Burnett River near Biggenden: a new stocked impoundment for barramundi and bass, inside the Ben Anderson Barrage exemption, with Sunwater access until major works begin.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Level
61.89 m171,973 ML
Air / High
20 °C / 27 °C
Wind
NE 10 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 136024A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Paradise Dam is in full summer mode: early starts, shade at midday, and the evening change. The gauge reads 61.89 m, up 0.30 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 10:26 AM-12:26 PM and 10:47 PM-12:47 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: 10:26 AM-12:26 PM, 10:47 PM-12:47 AM, 4:04 AM-5:04 AM. Similar 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 Paradise Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (04:59), sunset (18:13), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:26 AM-12:26 PM and 10:47 PM-12:47 AM; minor 4:04 AM-5:04 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Paradise Dam Level today, and the weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 136024A (Paradise Dam).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 136024A. Latest reading 2026-11-08 11:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp20 °C
High / Low27 °C / 19 °C
WindNE 10 km/h, gusts 25 km/h
Pressure1017.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain36% cloud, 80%
Sunrise / Sunset04:59 / 18:13
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Paradise Dam
Today is the pick of the week on Paradise Dam, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
- Solunar majors
- 10:26 AM-12:26 PM and 10:47 PM-12:47 AM
- Minor period
- 4:04 AM-5:04 AM
- Sun
- 04:59 to 18:13
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 80%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Paradise 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 Paradise Dam is inside the Ben Anderson Barrage exemption 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 Paradise 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
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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 Paradise Dam 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 23 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 18 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
As a scheme water, Paradise Dam requires a Stocked Impoundment Permit for line fishing from age 18, costing A$13.60 for a week or A$64.58 for a year.
Permit
Paradise Dam is in Queensland’s Stocked Impoundment Permit scheme: anyone 18 or over fishing it with a line needs the permit, and one permit covers every scheme water. What the permit costs and where to buy it. Compare it with every other storage in the state on Queensland dam levels today.
About this water
Paradise Dam is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Paradise Dam: the full guide
The lake
Paradise Dam was built in 2005 on the Burnett River, about 20 kilometres north-west of Biggenden and 80 kilometres south-west of Bundaberg. It takes its name from a gold mining town of the 1800s that was abandoned in the early 1900s and later flooded by the lake. The dam feeds the Bundaberg Water Supply Scheme, and Sunwater notes that it and its downstream sister storages, Ned Churchward Weir and Ben Anderson Barrage, include fish movement technology. The Bureau of Meteorology’s station at the dam, 136024A, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Paradise Dam is one of three new stocked impoundments the Queensland Government has added to its permit scheme, with barramundi and Australian bass listed as the stocked species. The government’s barramundi closure notice includes Paradise Dam within the Ben Anderson Barrage exemption, so the species card shows barramundi open all year. Bass become the better target when the water cools and barramundi slow.
Where to fish it
The timbered arms up the Burnett are the obvious structure for both species: cast weedless plastics and suspending lures to snags for barramundi at low light, and use a sounder to find bass schooling off points when the water is cool. Sunwater does not allow fishing on or near the dam wall, and boats must stay at least 200 metres from it. Swimming, kayaking and sailing are permitted outside signed zones.
Reading the report
The future of the dam is being decided: Sunwater has submitted a detailed business case to the Queensland Government, which has committed to rebuilding the existing dam. The chart shows the current level; Sunwater closes the ramp when the dam spills or is very low. The estimated water temperature row signals whether barramundi or bass are more likely to be active.
Permits, access and rules
As a scheme water, Paradise Dam requires a Stocked Impoundment Permit for line fishing from age 18, costing A$13.60 for a week or A$64.58 for a year. Sunwater provides the recreation facilities and says it will keep facilitating recreational access until major project work starts, so check its recreation alerts before travelling.
Common questions
Is barramundi open all year at Paradise Dam?
Yes. The Queensland Government includes Paradise Dam within the Ben Anderson Barrage exemption from the barramundi closed season.
Can I fish Paradise Dam during the rebuild planning?
Yes for now: Sunwater says it will facilitate recreational access until major project work begins; check its recreation alerts before you go.
Is fishing good at Paradise 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 early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 136024A — Paradise Dam
- 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.