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.
Yeppoon Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Capricorn Coast: Keppel Bay, the islands, the creeks and the Causeway Lake, a coast on the Tropic of Capricorn.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
Low 3:30 pm model
Air / High
22 °C / 27 °C
Wind
E 11 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Yeppoon is in full summer mode: early starts, shade at midday, and the evening change. Today brings a mixed sky, wind E around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Tides: high 9:08 am and 9:16 pm, low 2:49 am and 3:30 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 10:30 AM-12:30 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 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: 10:30 AM-12:30 PM, 10:52 PM-12:52 AM, 4:12 AM-5:12 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 Yeppoon today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:07), sunset (18:14), 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 10:30 AM-12:30 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 AM; minor 4:12 AM-5:12 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
LOW2:49 am-1.38 m
HIGH9:08 am2.58 m
LOW3:30 pm-1.06 m
HIGH9:16 pm1.82 m
Tue
LOW3:22 am-1.23 m
HIGH9:42 am2.45 m
LOW4:06 pm-1.11 m
HIGH9:56 pm1.56 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp22 °C
High / Low27 °C / 21 °C
WindE 11 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1016.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain49% cloud, 94%
Sunrise / Sunset05:07 / 18:14
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 Yeppoon
Today is the pick of the week on Yeppoon, 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
- 10:30 AM-12:30 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 AM
- Minor period
- 4:12 AM-5:12 AM
- Sun
- 05:07 to 18:14
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 94%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Yeppoon: 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 Yeppoon 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 Yeppoon 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 33 °C, wind to 14 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 16 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 32 °C, wind to 16 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 barramundi, Spanish mackerel and coral reef fin fish closures, the size and bag limits and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning around the islands apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Yeppoon is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Yeppoon: the full guide
Yeppoon and Keppel Bay
Yeppoon is the town of the Capricorn Coast, on Keppel Bay north-east of Rockhampton, with Great Keppel Island and its neighbours offshore, the Rosslyn Bay boat harbour to the south, the beaches from Farnborough to Emu Park, the Causeway Lake and the creeks that cut the coast, and the Fitzroy River delta further south. It sits close to the Tropic of Capricorn and fishes for the tropical species inshore and the reef species around the islands. The whole Capricorn Coast, Keppel Bay and the Fitzroy included, is a net-free zone where commercial mesh and seine netting is banned. The report on this page is scored for Yeppoon’s own coordinates.
Species and seasons
Barramundi fish the creeks, the Causeway Lake and the Fitzroy delta on the run-off and the build-up, closed from 1 November to 31 January; mangrove jack and grunter fish the creeks and the rocks; queenfish and trevally the bay and the beaches on the tide; and Spanish mackerel run the islands and the headlands, with Yeppoon south of latitude 22°S and so under the southern closures, 1 to 21 February and 1 to 21 March. Whiting and flathead fish the beaches and the creek mouths, mud crabs are a pot fishery in the creeks, and the reefs around the Keppels give coral trout, sweetlip and the other reef species, which close for two five-day periods each October and November.
Reading this report for the Capricorn Coast
The south-easterly trade wind decides whether the islands and the reef are reachable and pushes the fishing into the creeks and the lee beaches when it is up. Barramundi respond to the barometer, and a drop ahead of a storm is the bite anglers wait for; the rain row shows the wet coming. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model; Keppel Bay has big tides, so the direction and the size decide the flats and the creeks, and the Bureau of Meteorology has the minute. Estuarine crocodiles can turn up in the creeks and the river, so keep clear of the water’s edge.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the barramundi, Spanish mackerel and coral reef fin fish closures, the size and bag limits and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning around the islands apply, on the pages linked below. The beaches, the creek mouths and the Causeway are public, and the islands are reached by ferry or boat.
Common questions
Do I need a fishing licence in Yeppoon?
No. Queensland sells no recreational fishing licence; the closures, the limits and the marine park zones are the rules to know.
What can I catch at Yeppoon?
Barramundi and mangrove jack in the creeks, queenfish and trevally on the beaches and the bay, Spanish mackerel around the islands, and the reef species for the boats.
Is fishing good at Yeppoon 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.