The rivers of the wet-dry tropics in northern Australia support a high diversity and abundance of freshwater fish. Previous studies, both in Australia and throughout the world, have highlighted the importance of the wet season as a significant period for fish spawning and recruitment in tropical rivers. But few studies have examined larval abundance across seasons. We conducted a pilot study to determine the spatial and temporal variability of spawning across one hydrological cycle (1 year) in the Daly River, Northern Territory, Australia. Fish spawning occurred throughout the year, with the composition of the larval assemblage varying considerably. The highest larval species diversity occurred in the wet season high-flow period, but 10 species were also collected during the low-flow dry season. Some species spawned throughout the entire year, while others preferentially spawned in either the wet or dry seasons. Spatial variability between sites was also evident in the dry season. This preliminary study highlights that the dry season, low-flow period may have been underestimated as an important spawning and recruitment period for freshwater fishes in tropical rivers. This finding has important implications for predicting the effects of increasing dry season water extraction on freshwater fishes of the wet-dry tropics.