Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Darling River at Louth Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Darling, Baaka, at Louth below Bourke: Murray cod and golden perch in the outback river, with a Bureau gauge at the settlement.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
1.42 m
Air / High
24 °C / 29 °C
Wind
NW 3 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 425004, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Darling River at Louth has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 1.42 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 29 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:54 AM-1:54 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Murray cod
Closed today
Reopens 1 Dec 2026. Closed 1 September to 30 November in all waters except Blowering and Copeton dams.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 11:27 PM-1:27 AM, 11:54 AM-1:54 PM, 5:21 AM-6:21 AM. Similar at 31 °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 at Louth today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:18), sunset (19:48), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:54 AM-1:54 PM; minor 5:21 AM-6:21 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 425004 (DARLING@LOUTH).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 425004. Latest reading 2026-11-07 22:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp24 °C
High / Low29 °C / 13 °C
WindNW 3 km/h, gusts 7 km/h
Pressure1015.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain12% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:18 / 19:48
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Darling River at Louth
The best day on Darling River at Louth this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:54 AM-1:54 PM
- Minor period
- 5:21 AM-6:21 AM
- Sun
- 06:18 to 19:48
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Darling River at Louth: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Murray cod
Closed 1 September to 30 November in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, and 1 August to 31 October in Queensland; check the exempt lakes
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.
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. Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
When to come: the Darling River at Louth 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 19 °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 at Louth today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 26 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 31 °C, wind to 29 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 30 °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 on the Darling at Louth, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees.
About this water
Darling River at Louth is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Darling River at Louth: the full guide
The Darling at Louth
Louth is the small outback settlement on the Darling River, the Baaka, downstream of Bourke, where the river winds between high clay banks and coolibah on its long run south-west across the plains. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Louth, station 425004, supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Darling at Tilpa, downstream, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the Darling at Louth: cod in the snags and deep holes on lures and bait, yellowbelly on shrimp and worms through the warm months. Freshwater catfish are closed all year west of the Divide, and carp are common. From 1 September to 30 November cod are off limits in New South Wales, and the species card works out the closure for you.
Where to fish it
The riverbank around Louth and the camping spots along the river roads give access to the snags, and the river is fished from the high banks with bait and heavy line. The deep holes on the outside bends are the cod water; a bait anchored beside a sunken log and watched patiently outfishes constant casting on this slow river.
Planning a visit
Louth is a long way from services, and the dirt roads of the far west close after rain. Carry fuel, food and water, bring cod gear and bait for yellowbelly, and check the local council road reports before driving out.
The river through the year
At Louth the Darling carries flows from far upstream in Queensland and northern New South Wales, and in drought it can stop and shrink to pools. A fresh arriving after a long dry spell is the event anglers wait for.
Reading this report here
The Darling runs from flood to a chain of pools depending on rain far upstream, and the chart shows which state it is in; a rising river after a long dry often brings the best fishing. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Louth.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Darling at Louth, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees. The DPIRD rules, with the cod closure and the catfish protection, are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Darling at Louth?
Murray cod and golden perch; freshwater catfish must be released.
Are the roads to Louth open after rain?
Unsealed roads in the far west close after rain; check the council road reports before you go.
Do I need a licence at Louth?
Yes. Fishing at Louth needs the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Darling River at Louth right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 425004 — DARLING@LOUTH
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- 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.