Castlereagh River at Coonamble Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Castlereagh at Coonamble: yellowbelly and cod in the sandy plains river, with a Bureau gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.46 m
Air / High
17 °C / 25 °C
Wind
WSW 1 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 420022, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Castlereagh River at Coonamble has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.46 m, easing 0.11 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 2 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 25 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Murray cod
Slow
Slow it down: heavier spinnerbaits, slow-rolled swimbaits and bait on the bottom next to the deep snags.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 26 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
New South Wales requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$7.00. New South Wales fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing murray cod here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD NSW before you keep anything; the Murray cod page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Castlereagh River at Coonamble today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:49), sunset (18:00), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 420022 (CASTLEREAGH@COONA#3).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 420022. Latest reading 2026-09-23 21:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp17 °C
High / Low25 °C / 13 °C
WindWSW 1 km/h, gusts 3 km/h
Pressure1028.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 12%
Sunrise / Sunset05:49 / 18:00
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Castlereagh River at Coonamble
Today is the pick of the week on Castlereagh River at Coonamble, at 3 out of 5. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: today, 25 Sept — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 25 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:49 to 18:00
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 12%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Castlereagh River at Coonamble: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Murray cod
December to August; closed September to November
Closed now Reopens 1 Dec 2026. Closed 1 September to 30 November in all waters except Blowering and Copeton dams. Rule as read from DPIRD NSW on 2026-09-23.
The giant of the inland rivers and the big lakes (Hume, Mulwala, Eildon). A snag fish that eats big lures, and a species with a closed season across the Murray-Darling. Slow it down: heavier spinnerbaits, slow-rolled swimbaits and bait on the bottom next to the deep snags.
Golden perch
Best: November to April
Yellowbelly. The bread-and-butter native of the Murray-Darling lakes and rivers; loves warm water, structure and a lure worked slowly past its nose. Slower. Work the deeper timber and the drop-offs with vibes and bait.
When to come: the Castlereagh River at Coonamble calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Murray cod
Golden perch
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 13 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Castlereagh River at Coonamble today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 25 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 25 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 27 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by DPIRD NSW and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the New South Wales licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies at Coonamble, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees.
About this water
Castlereagh River at Coonamble is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Castlereagh River at Coonamble: the full guide
The Castlereagh at Coonamble
Coonamble is the north-western town on the Castlereagh River, a sandy-bedded river that runs dry in long droughts and fills with floods, winding under red gums from the Warrumbungles toward the Macquarie. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Coonamble supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Castlereagh at Gungalman, downstream, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Golden perch are the fish most anglers take from the Castlereagh, in the waterholes and the flowing river after rain; Murray cod hold in the deeper holes; carp are common, and freshwater catfish are protected west of the Divide. The New South Wales Murray cod closure, 1 September to 30 November, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The weir and the riverbank reserves in Coonamble give access to the Castlereagh’s waterholes, and the crossings along the river road reach the pools beyond the town when the river is running.
Planning a visit
Coonamble is on the Castlereagh Highway north of Gilgandra, with supplies and accommodation. Check whether the river is flowing before planning a trip: in dry times it shrinks to a string of holes.
The river through the year
The Castlereagh has no large dam, so at Coonamble it runs only after good rain in the Warrumbungles and the central-west slopes, and in long droughts it can dry to a sandy bed with scattered waterholes. When it runs, it can rise fast and spread across the flats around the town. Golden perch feed on those flows in the warm months, and cod hold in the deeper holes. A flow arriving after a dry spell is the moment to fish, and the chart shows whether it is coming. The waterholes near the town are the first places to try.
Reading this report here
The chart tells you whether the Castlereagh is running; after rain in the Warrumbungles a flow comes down and the yellowbelly bite. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Coonamble.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies at Coonamble, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees. The DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
Does the Castlereagh run all year?
No. It is a sandy river that runs after rain and can shrink to waterholes in dry times; the chart shows its state.
What can I catch at Coonamble?
Golden perch, with Murray cod in the deeper holes.
Do I need a licence at Coonamble?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Castlereagh River at Coonamble right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 420022 — CASTLEREAGH@COONA#3
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.