Darling River at Pooncarie Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lower Darling at Pooncarie: cod and yellowbelly in the river between Menindee and Wentworth, with a Bureau gauge at the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
1.78 m
Air / High
21 °C / 32 °C
Wind
S 13 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 425005, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Darling River at Pooncarie has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 1.78 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 32 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: 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: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Cooler at 22 °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 Pooncarie today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:14), sunset (18:28), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 425005 (DARLING@POONCARIE).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 425005. Latest reading 2026-09-23 22:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp21 °C
High / Low32 °C / 18 °C
WindS 13 km/h, gusts 24 km/h
Pressure1023.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain8% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:14 / 18:28
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Darling River at Pooncarie
The best day on Darling River at Pooncarie this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 2 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, 26 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 06:14 to 18:28
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 29 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 at Pooncarie: 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 at Pooncarie 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 at Pooncarie today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 36 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at good. High of 33 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at good. High of 27 °C, wind to 16 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
Fishing the Darling at Pooncarie takes the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Darling River at Pooncarie 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 Pooncarie: the full guide
The Darling at Pooncarie
Pooncarie is the small river town on the lower Darling between Menindee and Wentworth, where the river winds through river red gums and saltbush plains toward its junction with the Murray. It is a quiet river camp with a pub and a riverside reserve. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Pooncarie supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Darling at Burtundy, downstream, and Wentworth have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the lower Darling at Pooncarie, cod in the snags and deep holes, yellowbelly on shrimp and worms in the warm months; carp are common, and freshwater catfish are protected. The New South Wales Murray cod closure, 1 September to 30 November, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The riverside reserve at Pooncarie gives bank access to the Darling, and the camping spots along the river road reach the snag-lined bends up and downstream.
Planning a visit
Pooncarie is on the road between Wentworth and Menindee, partly unsealed, with a pub and camping. Carry water and fuel, bring cod lures and bait, and check the road after rain.
The river through the year
At Pooncarie the lower Darling’s flow depends mostly on releases from the Menindee Lakes, and in dry years, when the lakes are low, the river can slow to a trickle or stop, as it did in the 2019 drought. When the lakes release, the river runs steadily through the red gums toward Wentworth. Cod feed through summer and autumn in the snags and deep holes, and yellowbelly bite on rising water in the warm months. The chart shows whether the river is moving; after a long stop, the first release is often the best fishing of the year.
Reading this report here
The lower Darling depends on releases from the Menindee Lakes, which the chart shows; in dry years the river slows to pools. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Pooncarie.
Licence, access and rules
Fishing the Darling at Pooncarie takes the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page. The DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Pooncarie?
Murray cod and golden perch.
When is cod closed at Pooncarie?
From 1 September to 30 November.
Do I need a licence at Pooncarie?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Darling River at Pooncarie 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 425005 — DARLING@POONCARIE
- 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.