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 Kununurra Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Ord River pool behind the 1963 Diversion Dam at Kununurra: barramundi under WA’s limits, a steady level, Ramsar wetlands and a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
41.37 m6,422 ML
Air / High
26 °C / 39 °C
Wind
W 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge ODSS_18313_WSLAHD.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Kununurra is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. The gauge reads 41.37 m, easing 0.07 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 39 °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, 3:56 AM-4:56 AM. Similar at 37 °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 Kununurra 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 3:56 AM-4:56 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station ODSS_18313_WSLAHD.1 (Kununurra Dv. Wsl).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station ODSS_18313_WSLAHD.1. Latest reading 2026-11-04 13:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low39 °C / 25 °C
WindW 4 km/h, gusts 32 km/h
Pressure1011.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain92% cloud, 88%
Sunrise / Sunset04:45 / 17:32
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Kununurra
The best day on Lake Kununurra this week looks like Wednesday 11 Nov, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Wednesday, 11 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
- 3:56 AM-4:56 AM
- Sun
- 04:45 to 17:32
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 29 km/h
- Rain chance
- 88%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Kununurra: 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 Kununurra 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 Kununurra today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 39 °C, wind to 14 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 42 °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 41 °C, wind to 19 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
No licence is needed for a rod from the shore, because Western Australia’s freshwater angling licence applies only south of Greenough; 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 Kununurra is a lake in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Kununurra: the full guide
The lake
Lake Kununurra was created in 1963 when the Diversion Dam was built on the Ord River beside the town of Kununurra, the federal environment department records. The Ramsar site runs from the Diversion Dam up to the base of the Argyle Dam: about 15 km of flowing river and 40 km of flooded riverbed, with adjoining swamps. Unlike Lake Argyle, its level is consistent, so fringes of grassland, rushes and woodland have grown along its edges, and dead trees still stand throughout. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Diversion Dam supplies the level and 30-day chart.
Species and seasons
The species card here is for barramundi. Western Australia’s rules give barramundi a 550 mm minimum, an 800 mm maximum for recreational fishers and a bag of two, with no closed season listed, so the card shows them open all year. The Ramsar listing records 29 fish species across the two lakes and three species of freshwater turtle, including the northern red-faced tortoise.
Where to fish it
With a steady level, the structure along the lake stays put: standing dead timber, weedy edges and the flowing river up toward the Argyle Dam are all worth a lure at dawn and dusk. Work slowly and close to cover. Freshwater crocodiles breed in the Ramsar site, and every Kimberley water should be treated as crocodile country, so fish from a boat or from well back on the bank and never clean fish at the water’s edge.
Reading the report
Because the Diversion Dam holds the lake steady, the level chart moves little; wet-season inflows and releases from Argyle upstream are what change the water. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, stays in the barramundi band for most of the year. On the open reaches the wind row matters, and pressure counts before a storm.
Licences, access and rules
No licence is needed for a rod from the shore, because Western Australia’s freshwater angling licence applies only south of Greenough; fishing from a powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence, A$40 as read from DPIRD. Lakes Argyle and Kununurra are on the traditional lands of the Miriuwung Gajerrong people. DPIRD’s barramundi rules and the Ramsar page are in the sources.
Common questions
Is barramundi open all year at Lake Kununurra?
DPIRD’s barramundi rules page lists no closed season; a 550 mm minimum, an 800 mm maximum and a bag of two apply.
Can I fish from the bank at Kununurra?
Yes, and no licence is needed for shore fishing; treat the lake as crocodile country and keep well back from the water’s edge.
Is fishing good at Lake Kununurra 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_18313_WSLAHD.1 — Kununurra Dv. Wsl
- 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.