Lachlan River at Forbes Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Lachlan through Forbes: cod and golden perch in the town lake and the river bends, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.75 m
Air / High
20 °C / 29 °C
Wind
N 13 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 412004, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lachlan River at Forbes has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.75 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 29 °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 30 °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 Forbes today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:54), sunset (18:06), 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 412004 (LACHLAN FORBES CTTNS).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 412004. Latest reading 2026-09-23 21:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp20 °C
High / Low29 °C / 16 °C
WindN 13 km/h, gusts 24 km/h
Pressure1025.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset05:54 / 18:06
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lachlan River at Forbes
The best day on Lachlan River at Forbes 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, 25 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:54 to 18:06
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 2%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lachlan River at Forbes: 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 Forbes 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 Forbes 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 28 °C, wind to 16 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 24 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
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 23 °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, from A$7 for three days, applies; our New South Wales licence page has the fees.
About this water
Lachlan River at Forbes 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 Forbes: the full guide
The reach
The Lachlan at Forbes runs through the central west town of bushranger history, with Lake Forbes, the town’s river lagoon, in the middle of it, the river bends and red gums either side, and the irrigation country downstream toward Condobolin. It is cod and perch water of the Lachlan kind, warm and slow, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Forbes supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod fish the snags and the deep bends through summer and autumn on bait and lures, closed from 1 September to 30 November under the New South Wales rule computed on the species card; golden perch are the everyday fish from spring to autumn in the river and the lake; silver perch are protected; eel-tailed catfish feed in summer; and carp are numerous under the DPIRD rules. The Lachlan below Wyangala is the same river with the dam’s releases in it.
Where to fish it
Lake Forbes and its walking track give bank access in the middle of town, the river parks give the bends, and the ramps put a boat onto the reaches upstream toward Cowra and downstream toward the irrigation country; the deep outside bends and the timber are the cod water. Night fishing with bait along the snags is the local method.
Reading the report
The chart follows the Wyangala releases with a delay, and a rise after rain or a big release brings the perch on and the cod out; a low, warm river in a dry summer fishes at dawn and dusk. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the cod band from November to April; the open country lets the wind cross the river; pressure counts before a summer storm.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days, applies; our New South Wales licence page has the fees. The lake, the parks and the ramps are public; DPIRD’s limits and the cod closure are in the sources.
Downstream to Condobolin
Below Forbes the Lachlan slows into the irrigation country toward Condobolin and Lake Cargelligo, and the reaches at Jemalong Weir and the river camps along the Lachlan Valley Way are the quieter cod and perch water for an angler with a boat and a day; Lake Cargelligo, at the end of that drive, has its own page.
Common questions
Can I fish Lake Forbes?
Yes, from the walking track around the town lake, for golden perch and cod in season, catfish and carp.
Do I need a licence at Forbes?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Lachlan River at Forbes 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 412004 — LACHLAN FORBES CTTNS
- 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.