Boyne River (Benaraby Bridge)

The Boyne River runs down from Lake Awoonga to the harbour at Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, and at Benaraby, south of Gladstone, the bridge reach is the river's best-known land-based spot. The downstream side produces good numbers of bream, flathead and barramundi, while the upstream side holds mangrove jack and queenfish. The Boyne River Rest Area on the highway beside the bridge has toilets, so it is an easy stop for a session on the way through. It is a roadside estuary with a servo nearby for ice and bait — about as convenient as river fishing in croc country gets.

Below the bridge, fish prawns, squid or herring on a running sinker along the channel edges and sandbars for bream and flathead, and work soft plastics or vibes along the drop-offs for flathead and barra around the tide changes. Above the bridge, live herring or poddy mullet fished near snags and rock bars is the jack method, and small metal slices or plastics worked fast find the queenfish when they are chasing bait. Fish from the bank well back from the edge rather than from the water's edge.

Bream, flathead and barramundi below the bridge; mangrove jack and queenfish above it. Yellowfin bream are 25 cm minimum, in a combined possession limit of 30. Dusky flathead are a 40–75 cm slot, limit 5. Barramundi are a 58–120 cm slot, limit 5, and closed from 1 November to 31 January. Mangrove jack are 35 cm, limit 5, and giant queenfish 50 cm, limit 5.

Prawns, squid and herring are the recommended baits. The bridge is just after the service station on the Gladstone–Benaraby Road approach. The roadside rest area has basic facilities — take your rubbish and scraps with you, and keep fish frames and food well away from the water. Stay off the road bridge itself and fish from the banks.

Benaraby is off the Bruce Highway south of Gladstone; the riverbank and the Boyne River Rest Area are beside the bridge. Parking is on the riverbank area, and facilities are basic. The banks are uneven and muddy in places, so it is not suited to wheelchairs, and children need to be kept well back from the water.

The river is sheltered from the trade winds. The run-in tide brings clean harbour water up to the bridge; the bottom of the tide exposes sand and rock bars and slows the fishing. After heavy rain, or when Lake Awoonga upstream spills, the river runs fresh and dirty for days.

The Boyne River is crocodile habitat — Queensland's crocodile habitat starts near Gladstone. Stay at least 5 m back from the water's edge where you can, never stand in the water to cast or to free a snag, don't stand on logs or branches over the water, and only throw a cast net from a boat or jetty. Reel fish in quickly and step back, and cut the line if a crocodile takes interest in your catch. Camp at least 50 m from the water's edge. Keep off the highway bridge and watch for traffic on the approach roads. Marine stingers, including box jellyfish and Irukandji, occur in the Gladstone area's waters, typically November to May.

Bream, flathead and barramundi on the downstream side, and mangrove jack and queenfish upstream. Barramundi are closed from 1 November to 31 January.

The Boyne River Rest Area beside the Bruce Highway bridge is a roadside rest area run by the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Check the signs on site for the current overnight limit, and camp at least 50 m from the water's edge.

Yes. Queensland's crocodile habitat starts near Gladstone and takes in the Boyne, so treat it as crocodile habitat: stay back from the edge, don't wade, and camp well away from the water.