Darling River at Tilpa Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Darling at Tilpa between Louth and Wilcannia: cod and yellowbelly in remote outback country, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.43 m
Air / High
27 °C / 34 °C
Wind
N 15 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 425900, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Darling River at Tilpa has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.43 m, easing 0.06 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind N around 14 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 34 °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 33 °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 Tilpa today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:08), sunset (18:20), 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 425900 (DARLING@TILPA).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 425900. Latest reading 2026-09-23 21:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp27 °C
High / Low34 °C / 19 °C
WindN 15 km/h, gusts 22 km/h
Pressure1025.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain31% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:08 / 18:20
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Darling River at Tilpa
The best day on Darling River at Tilpa 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
- 06:08 to 18:20
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 19 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 Tilpa: 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 Tilpa 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 Tilpa 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 35 °C, wind to 26 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 32 °C, wind to 16 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 21 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
At Tilpa the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Darling River at Tilpa 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 Tilpa: the full guide
The Darling at Tilpa
Tilpa is the smallest of the Darling River settlements, a pub and a crossing on the river between Louth and Wilcannia, deep in the western plains where the Darling winds between coolibah and river red gums. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Tilpa supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Darling at Louth has its own page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the Darling at Tilpa, the cod in the snags and deep holes, the yellowbelly in the warm months on shrimp and worms. Freshwater catfish are protected west of the Divide, and carp are common. The New South Wales Murray cod closure, 1 September to 30 November, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The crossing and the riverbank near the Tilpa pub are the access, and the camping spots along the river roads reach the snag-lined bends. The fishing is from the high banks with bait and heavy line.
Planning a visit
Tilpa is on the unsealed Darling River Road, which closes after rain; carry fuel, food, water and a way to call for help. Bring cod gear and bait for yellowbelly, and allow for the heat.
The river through the year
The Darling at Tilpa carries water that fell weeks earlier in Queensland and northern New South Wales, so a rise here can arrive in cloudless weather, and a flood can take a long time to pass. In drought the river can stop flowing and shrink to pools between the clay banks, and the fish crowd into the deeper holes. Cod feed through summer and autumn in the snags, and golden perch bite best on a rising river in the warm months, when a fresh is the signal to fish. The chart shows which way the river is moving, and on the Darling the direction matters more than the level. The pub and the crossing are the landmarks.
Reading this report here
The chart shows whether the Darling at Tilpa is flowing or reduced to pools; flows from Queensland take weeks to arrive. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Tilpa.
Licence, access and rules
At Tilpa the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page. The DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
Where is Tilpa?
On the Darling River Road between Louth and Wilcannia in western New South Wales.
What can I catch at Tilpa?
Murray cod and golden perch.
Do I need a licence at Tilpa?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Darling River at Tilpa 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 425900 — DARLING@TILPA
- 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.