Lachlan River at Booligal Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lower Lachlan at Booligal on the Hay Plains: cod and yellowbelly in a slow red gum river, with a Bureau gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.52 m
Air / High
21 °C / 33 °C
Wind
ESE 10 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 412005, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lachlan River at Booligal has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.52 m, easing 0.10 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind ESE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 33 °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 21 °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 Lachlan River at Booligal today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:04), sunset (18:19), 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 412005 (LACHLAN @ BOOLIGAL).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 412005. Latest reading 2026-09-23 21:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp21 °C
High / Low33 °C / 16 °C
WindESE 10 km/h, gusts 15 km/h
Pressure1023.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain98% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset06:04 / 18:19
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lachlan River at Booligal
The best day on Lachlan River at Booligal 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, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 06:04 to 18:19
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 29 km/h
- Rain chance
- 6%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lachlan River at Booligal: 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 Lachlan River at Booligal 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 Lachlan River at Booligal 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 33 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Thu, 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 13 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 25 °C, wind to 14 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 is needed at Booligal, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees.
About this water
Lachlan River at Booligal is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lachlan River at Booligal: the full guide
The Lachlan at Booligal
Booligal is the small settlement on the lower Lachlan River at the edge of the Hay Plains, where the river winds slowly between river red gums and black box toward the Great Cumbung Swamp and the Murrumbidgee. It is flat, open, dry country with a big sky. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Booligal supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Lachlan at Hillston, upstream, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the Lachlan at Booligal, cod in the snags and the deep holes on lures and bait, yellowbelly on shrimp and worms in the warm months; 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 reserve by the river at Booligal and the crossings up and downstream give bank access to the Lachlan’s snags. It is a narrow river here, fished from the bank with bait and small lures.
Planning a visit
Booligal is on the Cobb Highway between Hay and Ivanhoe, with a pub and little else, so carry fuel, food and water. Bring bait for yellowbelly and a few cod lures, and fish the cool of the morning in the Hay Plains summer.
The river through the year
At Booligal the Lachlan is near the end of its long journey, and it runs low in dry years; its big floods spread into the Great Cumbung Swamp rather than flowing on to the Murrumbidgee. Cod feed through summer and autumn in the snags, and golden perch bite on rising water in the warm months. The Hay Plains summer is hot, so mornings and evenings are the times to fish.
Reading this report here
The lower Lachlan often runs low, and the chart shows when flows from Wyangala or rain upstream arrive, which is when the fish move. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Booligal.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is needed at Booligal, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees. The reserve is public, and the DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Booligal?
Murray cod and golden perch; carp are common and catfish are protected.
When is cod closed on the Lachlan?
From 1 September to 30 November.
Do I need a licence at Booligal?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Lachlan River at Booligal 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 412005 — LACHLAN @ BOOLIGAL
- 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.