Barramundi Fishing Seasons

wet season barramundi fishingAustralia’s Northern Territory has three basic seasons – the wet season monsoon (usually late December to April), the dry season (May to September) and the stormy "build-up" – the time of increasing heat and humidity leading up to the wet season (late September to December).

There is usually very little "build-down" from the wet season as the cool dry season south-easterly wind arrives almost overnight once the monsoon weakens.

What does all this mean for barramundi fishing?

Barramundi love heat. They bite really well in the build-up when it is warm, and they are preparing to spawn. But this can also be an uncomfortable time to fish unless you limit trips to the cooler mornings and afternoons, and at night.

During the early wet season the weather is often cooler but barramundi can be hard to catch as the rivers flood and the fish spread out in the floodwaters.

Towards the end of the wet season the fish tend to gather in certain areas, usually the mouths of floodplain creeks.

This is the run-off season and it is a great time to fish. A wet season that drops rain consistently from December produces better fishing than a wet season that dumps it all in one lot late in February or March.

Just after the wet season is the "greenwater" period where the rivers are full of greenish (clear by Territory standards) rainwater. This is a great time to fish because water clarity is good. Territory rivers are otherwise muddy and turbid.

Once the dry season south-easterly hits, the water in rivers and billabongs begins to cool and barramundi slow down, however they can be caught right through the year, especially during warm spells. Barramundi fishing is therefore something you can enjoy all year.

run-off barramundi fishing

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