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.
Stanage Bay Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The end of the road on the Shoalwater coast: Stanage Bay’s creeks, flats and islands, with barra, grunter, mud crabs and the reef, and a ramp that dries on the tide.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
High 10:39 am model
Air / High
25 °C / 28 °C
Wind
E 11 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Stanage Bay is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. Today brings a mixed sky, wind E around 11 km/h, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 28 °C. Tides: high 10:39 am and 10:51 pm, low 4:17 am and 4:54 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 10:33 AM-12:33 PM and 10:57 PM-12:57 AM: plan around them and beat the heat.
Spanish mackerel
Fair
Troll rigged garfish or lures over the reef edges and shoals at first light; float-line a live bait through the middle of the day.
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: 10:33 AM-12:33 PM, 10:57 PM-12:57 AM, 4:17 AM-5:17 AM. Similar at 28 °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 Stanage Bay today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:11), sunset (18:15), 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 10:33 AM-12:33 PM and 10:57 PM-12:57 AM; minor 4:17 AM-5:17 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
LOW4:17 am-2.17 m
HIGH10:39 am3.30 m
LOW4:54 pm-1.94 m
HIGH10:51 pm2.39 m
Tue
LOW4:51 am-1.99 m
HIGH11:10 am3.21 m
LOW5:28 pm-1.78 m
HIGH11:24 pm2.06 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp25 °C
High / Low28 °C / 21 °C
WindE 11 km/h, gusts 20 km/h
Pressure1015.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain25% cloud, 85%
Sunrise / Sunset05:11 / 18:15
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 Stanage Bay
Today is the pick of the week on Stanage Bay, 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
- 10:33 AM-12:33 PM and 10:57 PM-12:57 AM
- Minor period
- 4:17 AM-5:17 AM
- Sun
- 05:11 to 18:15
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 85%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Stanage Bay: 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
Open now Closes 1 Feb 2027. East coast waters south of 22°S close to Spanish mackerel from 1 to 21 February and from 1 to 21 March each year. 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. Troll rigged garfish or lures over the reef edges and shoals at first light; float-line a live bait through the middle of the day.
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 Stanage Bay 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 Stanage Bay 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 29 °C, wind to 29 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 29 °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 30 °C, wind to 19 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 Stanage Bay needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits, the crab rules, the Spanish mackerel closures in February and March (the northern zone begins just north of Stanage Bay, at 22°S) and the marine park zoning apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Stanage Bay is a bay or coastal water in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Stanage Bay: the full guide
Stanage Bay and the Shoalwater coast
Stanage Bay is the tiny fishing settlement at the end of a long road on the Shoalwater coast north of Rockhampton, with the bay and its creeks, the mud and sand flats that empty on the big tides, the islands of Thirsty Sound and the Broad Sound offshore and the Shoalwater Bay military training area nearby. It is a remote creek-and-flats fishery, and the report on this page is scored for the settlement’s coordinates. Rockhampton, the nearest city, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the creeks and the drains and are the bay’s fish, outside the east coast closed season of 1 November to 31 January; grunter fish the holes and the bay and are the everyday catch; king threadfin salmon fish the creek mouths on the flats; mangrove jack fish the snags in summer; mud crabs work the creeks under the pot rules and are the other reason people come; Spanish mackerel run the islands in the cooler months; and the reef gives coral trout and red emperor for the boats. The tidal range is very large, and whole flats empty on a spring low.
Where to fish it
The creeks either side of the settlement and the drains of the bay are the barra, grunter and crab water for small boats on the run-out, with the flats off the settlement the threadfin salmon water on the rise; the islands of Thirsty Sound are the mackerel and reef run for the bigger boats. Plan every launch and retrieval around the tide, because on flats like these a ramp can be high and dry at low water.
Reading this report here
The bay is sheltered by the islands and the creeks fish in most weather; the wind row matters for the run to the islands. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Stanage Bay, labelled as a model, and it matters more here than at most places, because the range is huge and the creeks drain at low water. Pressure and sky build the score at Stanage Bay; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing at Stanage Bay needs no Queensland licence; the barramundi closed season, the coral reef fin fish rules, the size and bag limits, the crab rules, the Spanish mackerel closures in February and March (the northern zone begins just north of Stanage Bay, at 22°S) and the marine park zoning apply, on the pages linked below. The settlement, the ramp and the creeks are public, with access restricted in the Shoalwater Bay training area nearby; the crocodile warnings are the other rule to read.
Common questions
What can I catch at Stanage Bay?
Barramundi in the creeks in the warm season, grunter in the holes, threadfin salmon on the flats, mud crabs under the pot rules, mackerel and reef fish off the islands for the boats.
Do I need a licence at Stanage Bay?
No. There is no licence for this remote tidal coast, only Queensland’s limits and closed seasons.
Is fishing good at Stanage Bay 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
- 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.