Fishing in Wooroonooran National Park

Wooroonooran National Park covers a large sweep of tropical Queensland between Cairns and Innisfail, taking in the ranges and lowland rainforest that feed some of the region's significant river systems.

The park's two main sections — Goldsborough Valley in the north and the Palmerston (Doongan) section in the south — sit across different drainages, and the fishing character of each reflects that.

In the Goldsborough Valley section, the Mulgrave River is the confirmed fishable water. Fishing is permitted there under Queensland fisheries regulations, which cover bag and size limits, restricted species, and any seasonal closures.

Check current rules with the park or Queensland Fisheries before you go — regulations can change and the park is the right source for what applies on the ground.

The Palmerston section is dense, primary tropical rainforest — among the most intact in Australia — and while waters including the South Johnstone River and its tributaries run through it, fishing access is not confirmed in that section.

Don't assume access; confirm it. One note on the broader region: Trinity Inlet, which lies outside the park, holds barramundi, mangrove jack, golden snapper, grunter, bream, estuary cod, and flathead.

That's worth knowing if you're combining a park visit with fishing the surrounding area, but it's a different fishery entirely.

Wooroonooran is primarily a rainforest park, and the rivers here move through country that demands respect — fast water, remote access, and crocodile habitat in the lowland reaches.

Fish it for what it is: a chance to wet a line in one of the more intact tropical catchments left in Queensland, not a destination built around fishing infrastructure.