The biggest barramundi most anglers will ever see is around a metre long. The biggest ones ever landed on a rod were well past that, and both came out of the same Queensland dam.
- Heaviest widely reported: 44.6 kg, 135 cm, girth 107 cm: Denis Harrold, Lake Monduran, Qld, 2010
- Near miss: 129 cm and more than 35 kg: Jake Bates, Lake Monduran, October 2021
- Species maximum: About 2 m and 60 kg (FishBase)
- Biggest Million Dollar Fish tag: 105 cm: Kai Hale, Manton Dam, NT, March 2023 ($20,000)
- The $1 million fish: 67 cm: Keegan Payne, Katherine River, April 2024
Denis Harrold’s 44.6 kg barra
In 2010 Denis Harrold was fishing from a kayak on Lake Monduran, west of Bundaberg, when a barramundi took his slow-trolled soft plastic. It stripped 80 metres of 30 lb braid off his reel. When he got it in it weighed 44.6 kg, measured 135 cm and had a 107 cm girth (Outdoor Life; BRC Now).
That beat the previous record barramundi, from Lake Tinaroo in north Queensland in 1999, by almost 7 kg, according to Outdoor Life. Bundaberg Regional Council still describes Harrold’s fish as a world record (BRC Now). We couldn’t confirm which record body ratified it, so we call it the heaviest widely reported barra.
The one that came close
In October 2021 Jake Bates from Gin Gin landed a barra of more than 35 kg and 129 cm from the same lake. “This one was only 6cm short of the world record,” local fishing guide Rob Howell told the council’s news site (BRC Now).
How big do barramundi get?
FishBase gives the species’ maximum as about 200 cm and 60 kg, with a lifespan of up to 35 years. Barra start life as males and many change to females as they grow (FishBase). In the NT you can’t keep one under 55 cm, and in Kakadu and the Mary and Daly River zones a boat can keep only one over 90 cm.
Size doesn’t win Million Dollar Fish
In the Top End’s Million Dollar Fish competition, the tag matters, not the length. The biggest tagged fish on the official winners list is Kai Hale’s 105 cm barra from Manton Dam in March 2023, worth $20,000. Keegan Payne’s $1 million fish from the Katherine River in 2024 was 67 cm (winners list; ABC News). The one exception is the ‘Size Matters’ promotion: last December a 76 cm tagged fish paid $40,000. Here’s how the competition works and how to catch a barra.
Biggest barramundi: FAQ
What is the biggest barramundi ever caught?
The heaviest widely reported is Denis Harrold’s 44.6 kg, 135 cm fish from Lake Monduran in Queensland in 2010.
How big can a barramundi get?
About 2 m and 60 kg, according to FishBase.
How old is a big barramundi?
Barramundi can live up to 35 years.
How long was the $1 million barramundi?
67 cm. Keegan Payne caught it on the Katherine River on 28 April 2024.
Sources: Outdoor Life; BRC Now (Bundaberg Regional Council); FishBase; Million Dollar Fish winners list; ABC News. Checked 31 October 2026.
