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.
Lake Argyle Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Ord River’s great storage in the east Kimberley: barramundi under WA’s size and bag limits, a Ramsar-listed lake, freshwater crocodiles and a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
91.19 m9,812,200 ML
Air / High
28 °C / 37 °C
Wind
NNW 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge ODSS_58794_WSLAHD.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Argyle is in full summer mode: early starts, shade at midday, and the evening change. The gauge reads 91.19 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNW around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 37 °C. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 10:01 AM-12:01 PM and 10:24 PM-12:24 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: 10:01 AM-12:01 PM, 10:24 PM-12:24 AM, 3:55 AM-4:55 AM. Cooler at 34 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Western Australia requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$40.00. Western Australia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing barramundi here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD WA before you keep anything; the Barramundi page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Lake Argyle today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (04:45), sunset (17:32), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:01 AM-12:01 PM and 10:24 PM-12:24 AM; minor 3:55 AM-4:55 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station ODSS_58794_WSLAHD.1 (Lake Argyle Water level Logged on SCADA).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station ODSS_58794_WSLAHD.1. Latest reading 2026-11-06 02:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp28 °C
High / Low37 °C / 26 °C
WindNNW 4 km/h, gusts 15 km/h
Pressure1011.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain86% cloud, 72%
Sunrise / Sunset04:45 / 17:32
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Argyle
The best day on Lake Argyle this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:01 AM-12:01 PM and 10:24 PM-12:24 AM
- Minor period
- 3:55 AM-4:55 AM
- Sun
- 04:45 to 17:32
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 72%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Argyle: 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
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 Lake Argyle 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 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 Lake Argyle 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 36 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 38 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 38 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Western Australian recreational fishing licences, from A$40.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by DPIRD WA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Western Australia licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Western Australia’s freshwater angling licence applies only south of Greenough, so a rod from the shore here needs no licence; fishing from a powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence, A$40 as read from DPIRD.
Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on Western Australia dam levels today.
About this water
Lake Argyle is a lake in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Argyle: the full guide
The lake
Lake Argyle was created in 1972 by the Argyle Dam on the Ord River, immediately upstream of Lake Kununurra, and the federal environment department describes it as the largest freshwater body in northern Australia. The Ord, Bow and Behn rivers drain into it. Its level rises and falls with rainfall, evaporation and irrigation demand, which has kept vegetation from establishing along much of the shore. With Lake Kununurra it was listed as a Ramsar wetland in 1990. This page’s storage level and 30-day chart come from the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Argyle Dam.
Species and seasons
Barramundi are the species card’s fish. Western Australia’s rules page sets a 550 mm minimum, an 800 mm maximum for recreational fishers and a daily bag and possession limit of two, and lists no closed season, so the card shows barramundi open all year. Twenty-nine fish species have been recorded in the Ramsar site, including the only Western Australian populations of giant glassfish, and the site is a major breeding area for freshwater crocodiles.
Where to fish it
The lake is huge, and a trip needs fuel, water, a plan for the weather and a clear idea of the way back. Barramundi in big impoundments hold on rocky points, creek mouths and standing timber and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark; lures worked slowly around structure in the warm months are the standard approach. Lake Kununurra, below the dam, has its own page.
Reading the report
The Kimberley is hot for most of the year, and the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, keeps the barramundi band open for long stretches. The level chart shows the wet-season fill and the long dry-season draw-down. Open water lets the wind build, so read the wind row before a long run, and watch the rain row as the wet arrives, when roads in the region can close.
Licences, access and rules
Western Australia’s freshwater angling licence applies only south of Greenough, so a rod from the shore here needs no licence; fishing from a powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence, A$40 as read from DPIRD. Treat every Kimberley water as crocodile country and stay back from the edge. DPIRD’s barramundi rules and the Ramsar site page are in the sources.
Common questions
Is there a closed season for barramundi at Lake Argyle?
No closed season is listed on DPIRD’s barramundi rules page; the limits are a 550 mm minimum, an 800 mm maximum and a bag of two.
Do I need a licence at Lake Argyle?
Not for a rod from the shore; fishing from a powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence, A$40. See our Western Australia licence page.
Is fishing good at Lake Argyle right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station ODSS_58794_WSLAHD.1 — Lake Argyle Water level Logged on SCADA
- 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.