Barramundi
Good
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Russell River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Russell south of Cairns: barramundi, jungle perch and sooty grunter in a clear wet-tropics river under the Bellenden Ker range, with the Bureau’s gauge at Mirriwinni.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~26 °C est.
Air / High
19 °C / 24 °C
Wind
WSW 12 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 111101A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Russell River is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WSW around 11 km/h, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 24 °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 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 Russell River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:03), sunset (18:12), 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 111101A (Russell_R Mirriwinni).
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 temp19 °C
High / Low24 °C / 18 °C
WindWSW 12 km/h, gusts 21 km/h
Pressure1022.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain55% cloud, 96%
Sunrise / Sunset06:03 / 18:12
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Russell River
Today is the pick of the week on Russell River, 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, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 96%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Russell River: 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.
When to come: the Russell River 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 Russell River 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 23 °C, wind to 13 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 25 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Barramundi led the card at good. High of 25 °C, wind to 13 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; the size and bag limits, the barramundi closure and the jungle perch rules apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Russell River is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Russell River: the full guide
The reach
The Russell is the clear wet-tropics river that runs off the Bellenden Ker range south of Cairns through the cane and rainforest of the Mulgrave-Russell valley to the sea at Russell Heads, with the Mirriwinni crossing on the Bruce Highway, the Babinda reaches and the tidal river below. It is barramundi and jungle perch water in a wet valley, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Mirriwinni supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the snags and the deep bends in the warm months, with the Queensland east coast closure from 1 November to 31 January computed on the species card; jungle perch are in the clear upper reaches and the creeks under their rules and are the river’s particular fish; sooty grunter are on the rock; mangrove jack are in the tidal reaches; and the Russell floods every wet. Crocodiles are in the river.
Where to fish it
The Mirriwinni crossing and the reserves give bank access, the crossings upstream toward Babinda give the clear jungle perch reaches, and a boat launched at the lower crossings covers the river to the heads; the snags and the deep bends are the barramundi water, the clear runs the jungle perch’s. The Babinda Boulders above are for swimming, not fishing.
Reading the report
The chart shows a river under the wettest mountain in Australia that rises fast after rain and falls back within days; the rain row is the first thing to read. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives a long barramundi band; the range shelters the water; pressure counts before a storm.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits, the barramundi closure and the jungle perch rules apply, on the pages linked below. The crossings and the reserves are public.
The Mulgrave and the Babinda Boulders
The Russell and the Mulgrave share a valley and a mouth, and the Mulgrave at Peets Bridge is the other jungle perch and barramundi river of the district; the Babinda Boulders on Babinda Creek, a Russell tributary, are a swimming hole and a place of Aboriginal significance where fishing is not the point, and the creeks above the boulders are the jungle perch water.
Common questions
What is the Russell River known for?
Jungle perch in its clear upper reaches, with barramundi and jack in the lower river; the rules for jungle perch are the Queensland Government’s, linked in the sources.
Do I need a licence on the Russell?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; the limits, the closure and the jungle perch rules apply.
Is fishing good at Russell River 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
- 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.