Darling River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The outback river: from Bourke down through Wilcannia and Menindee to the Murray, golden perch and cod in a river that runs, or does not, with the rain far to the north.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~13 °C est.
Air / High
24 °C / 32 °C
Wind
NE 11 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Darling River has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 11 km/h, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 32 °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 32 °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 Darling River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:01), sunset (18:12), 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
Conditions here are modelled from weather, season and the nearest stations.
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Bureau of Meteorology station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp24 °C
High / Low32 °C / 20 °C
WindNE 11 km/h, gusts 17 km/h
Pressure1026.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:01 / 18:12
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Darling River
The best day on Darling River this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. 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: Sunday, 27 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
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
- 06:01 to 18:12
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Darling River: 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 Darling River 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 Darling River 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 32 °C, wind to 23 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 33 °C, wind to 19 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 32 °C, wind to 18 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, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees.
About this water
Darling River is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Darling River: the full guide
The river
The Darling River gathers the rivers of the north-west of New South Wales and southern Queensland at Bourke and runs south-west through Louth, Tilpa, Wilcannia and the Menindee Lakes to join the Murray at Wentworth, a slow, muddy, tree-lined river across the outback whose flow depends on rain a thousand kilometres away and whose reaches can stop running altogether in a dry. The reach this page scores is the one near Bourke and Louth, where the river is a chain of long, deep pools between the weirs; the Menindee Lakes, when they hold water, are their own fishery and enter in a later phase.
Species and seasons
Golden perch are the Darling’s fish, in the snags, the weir pools and the deep bends from spring to autumn, and they run when the river rises; Murray cod fish the same water in the warmer months, with the closed season from September to November that DPIRD publishes; and eel-tailed catfish, silver perch and the small natives are present, with silver perch protected in the rivers and returned. Carp are the most numerous fish and the DPIRD rules on their release apply; bony bream fill the pools; and the yabbies are a net fishery in the backwaters.
Reading this report for the Darling
The river’s flow decides everything and it comes from the north: a rise after rain in Queensland brings the fish on weeks later, a dry stops the river and the fishing with it, and the water authority publishes the flows at Bourke that this page does not have. The wind matters little in the river; the water temperature decides whether the cod and the perch feed and the seasonal curve on this page is an estimate for an outback river and says so; and pressure and sky build the score. Blue-green algae closes reaches in hot, still summers and the water authority publishes the alerts.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees. The river reserves at Bourke, Louth, Tilpa and Wilcannia, the weirs and the camping on the river roads are public, with ramps at Bourke and the towns; the DPIRD limits, the cod closed season and the protected species are on the pages in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Darling River?
Golden perch in the snags and the weir pools from spring to autumn, Murray cod in the warmer months outside the closed season, catfish and yabbies; silver perch are protected and returned.
Do I need a fishing licence on the Darling River?
Yes. The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Darling River 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
- 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.