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.
Ross River Dam Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
Townsville’s main water supply: land-based barramundi fishing from the council’s designated spit, the east coast closure in force, and a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Level
36.87 m146,980 ML
Air / High
27 °C / 32 °C
Wind
NNE 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 9573, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Ross River Dam runs hot and bright: the fish feed early, late and deep. The gauge reads 36.87 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 6 km/h, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 32 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:11 PM-1:11 AM and 10:47 AM-12:47 PM: 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: 11:11 PM-1:11 AM, 10:47 AM-12:47 PM, 4:35 AM-5:35 AM. Similar at 32 °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 Ross River Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:28), sunset (18:25), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:11 PM-1:11 AM and 10:47 AM-12:47 PM; minor 4:35 AM-5:35 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Ross River Dam Level today, and the weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 9573 (ROSS DAM).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 9573. Latest reading 2026-11-07 21:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp27 °C
High / Low32 °C / 25 °C
WindNNE 6 km/h, gusts 20 km/h
Pressure1013.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain11% cloud, 28%
Sunrise / Sunset05:28 / 18:25
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Ross River Dam
Today is the pick of the week on Ross River Dam, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
- Solunar majors
- 11:11 PM-1:11 AM and 10:47 AM-12:47 PM
- Minor period
- 4:35 AM-5:35 AM
- Sun
- 05:28 to 18:25
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 28%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Ross River 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
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.
When to come: the Ross River 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.
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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 Ross River 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 16 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 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
Queensland has no general fishing licence, and Ross River Dam is not on the Stocked Impoundment Permit list read from the Queensland Government on 27 September 2026, so no permit is needed.
Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on Queensland dam levels today.
About this water
Ross River Dam is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Ross River Dam: the full guide
The lake
Ross River Dam holds the Ross River on the southern edge of Townsville and is, in the city council’s words, the city’s main source of drinking water. Townsville City Council opened it to recreational land-based fishing on 12 May 2025 as Stage 1 of its recreational use policy, building an access path down the dam wall to the water’s edge, stairs from the car park and an amenities block. Boating and wider access depend on later stages and on outside funding. Townsville City Council’s gauge at the dam, published through the Bureau of Meteorology, supplies the level and 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the fish people come for: the council says they were introduced in 2017 and have been restocked since, with a local restocking group involved. Ross River Dam is not on the Queensland Government’s list of impoundments exempt from the barramundi closure, so the 1 November to 31 January closure applies and barramundi may not be targeted at all in that period, catch and release included; the species card computes the dates. Because of blue-green algae the council now tells anglers not to eat fish, red claw or mussels from the dam, and fishing there is catch and release only.
Where to fish it
At this stage fishing is permitted only from the designated spit and within the council’s opening hours, and the council has warned people off climbing the rocks and the spillway to cast. That makes this a shore fishery with a fixed casting zone: long casts with soft plastics and suspending hardbodies over the edge of the spit, timed for the low light of dawn and dusk, give the best chance. The area opens from 6 am to 6 pm, seven days a week, from March to November, and from 5.30 am to 7 pm between December and February.
Reading the report
In the dry tropics the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, stays warm enough for barramundi through most of the year outside the coolest months. The level chart follows the supply draw-down through the dry and the inflows of the wet; a rising storage after rain pushes fresh water and bait along the edges. A strong wind in your face makes casting from a fixed spot hard work, so read the wind row, and note that a falling barometer before a storm often brings fish on.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence, and Ross River Dam is not on the Stocked Impoundment Permit list read from the Queensland Government on 27 September 2026, so no permit is needed. The rules that shape a visit are the council’s: fish only from the designated spit and within its hours, which change with the season. Queensland’s barramundi size and possession limits apply outside the closure; the council’s and the state’s pages are linked in the sources.
Common questions
Is barramundi closed at Ross River Dam?
Yes, from 1 November to 31 January: the dam is not among the impoundments the Queensland Government exempts, and during the closure barramundi may not be targeted, even for release.
Where can I fish at Ross River Dam?
Only from the council’s designated land-based fishing spit, during its opening hours; boating is not part of the current stage of recreational use.
Is fishing good at Ross River 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 9573 — ROSS DAM
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- townsville.qld.gov.au/facilities-and-recreation/sport-and-leisure-faci
- townsville.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releas
- townsville.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releas
- dpi.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/closures/fresh/seasons
- qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/dams/stoc
- 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.