Lake Ross, Queensland: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Lake Ross is a Townsville water, in Queensland. The coast is 21 km away. Surface area runs to some 42.53 sq km, so a boat and a plan are both worth having. The bank runs about 53 km in total, split between open shore and sheltered corners. It ranks among the bigger water on our Queensland list. Kelso at 8.4 km is the nearest place to stop. Rasmussen is 12 km and Stuart 14 km. You would be travelling a fair way to find the next one. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lake Ross

  We hold no depth figure for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Biodiversity records within roughly six miles include Australian longfinned eel, mozambique tilapia and silver perch. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. The near bank of Lake Ross is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect January to average close to 28°C, with July the cold end at about 19°C. Nothing shuts down for cold, so the question is when in the day to go. The shoulder seasons either side of summer are the ones to aim for. Spring, September into November, fishes hardest, with autumn a close second. On Lake Ross that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a dammed water rather than a natural one, which shows in the shape of the basin. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Perch take small lures and worms fished near the bottom close to structure. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Ask locally about Lake Ross if anything is unclear.