Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Lachlan River at Hillston Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lower Lachlan at Hillston: cod and yellowbelly in the western river town, with no current Bureau level series.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~19 °C est.
Air / High
19 °C / 26 °C
Wind
ESE 10 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lachlan River at Hillston sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ESE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:25 PM-1:25 AM and 11:53 AM-1:53 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: 11:25 PM-1:25 AM, 11:53 AM-1:53 PM, 5:14 AM-6:14 AM. Warmer 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 Lachlan River at Hillston today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:11), sunset (19:52), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:25 PM-1:25 AM and 11:53 AM-1:53 PM; minor 5:14 AM-6:14 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Conditions here are modelled from weather, season and the nearest stations.
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Bureau of Meteorology station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low26 °C / 10 °C
WindESE 10 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1015.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain35% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:11 / 19:52
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lachlan River at Hillston
The best day on Lachlan River at Hillston this week looks like Friday 13 Nov, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Friday, 13 Nov — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:25 PM-1:25 AM and 11:53 AM-1:53 PM
- Minor period
- 5:14 AM-6:14 AM
- Sun
- 06:11 to 19:52
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lachlan River at Hillston: 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 Lachlan River at Hillston 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 Lachlan River at Hillston 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 22 °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 22 °C, wind to 27 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 11 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 Hillston the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees.
About this water
Lachlan River at Hillston 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 Hillston: the full guide
The Lachlan at Hillston
Hillston is the river town on the lower Lachlan in western New South Wales, between Lake Cargelligo and Booligal, where the river winds through river red gum and black box on its way toward the Great Cumbung Swamp. The Bureau of Meteorology lists gauges on the Lachlan at Hillston, but none reports recent readings to Water Data Online, so this page carries no level chart. The Lachlan at Condobolin, upstream, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the Lachlan at Hillston, cod in the snags and deep holes on lures and bait, yellowbelly on shrimp and worms in the warm months; DPIRD sets a 55 to 75 cm slot and two cod a day, and 30 cm and five a day for golden perch. Carp are common and freshwater catfish are protected west of the Divide. The New South Wales Murray cod closed season, 1 September to 30 November, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The riverside reserves and the camping areas near Hillston give bank access to the Lachlan, and a kayak covers the reaches between the snags. The snag-lined bends near the town are the cod and yellowbelly water, fished with lures and bait close to the timber; in a dry spell the deeper holes hold the fish.
Planning a visit
Hillston is on the Lachlan Valley Way in western New South Wales, with a caravan park, a pub and supplies beside the river. Bring cod lures and bait for yellowbelly, water for the heat, and fish the cool of the morning in summer; cod are closed in spring.
Reading this report here
Without a current level series, the page leans on the weather rows: rain upstream will colour the Lachlan days later, and summer heat drives the fish to feed early and late. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer. Pressure and sky build the score at Hillston, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
At Hillston the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees. Bank access is from public reserves, and the DPIRD closure summary and bag limits are in the sources.
Common questions
Why is there no river level on this page?
The Bureau’s Hillston gauges do not report recent readings to Water Data Online, so the page shows no level rather than an old one.
What can I catch at Hillston?
Murray cod and golden perch.
Do I need a licence at Hillston?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days, covers the Lachlan at Hillston.
Is fishing good at Lachlan River at Hillston 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
- 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.