Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Murray River at Barham Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murray at Barham and Koondrook: cod and yellowbelly among the red gum forests of the Riverina, NSW rules on both banks, with a Bureau gauge at Barham.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
3.00 m
Air / High
19 °C / 25 °C
Wind
NE 9 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 409005, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Murray River at Barham has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 3.00 m, easing 0.36 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NE around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 26 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:59 AM-1:59 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: 11:31 PM-1:31 AM, 11:59 AM-1:59 PM, 5:15 AM-6:15 AM. Warmer at 31 °C with a rain chance. 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 Murray River at Barham today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:13), sunset (20:01), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:59 AM-1:59 PM; minor 5:15 AM-6:15 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 409005 (MURRAY R @ BARHAM).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 409005. Latest reading 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low25 °C / 9 °C
WindNE 9 km/h, gusts 14 km/h
Pressure1015.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain51% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:13 / 20:01
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Murray River at Barham
Today is the pick of the week on Murray River at Barham, at 4 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 11:31 PM-1:31 AM and 11:59 AM-1:59 PM
- Minor period
- 5:15 AM-6:15 AM
- Sun
- 06:13 to 20:01
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Murray River at Barham: 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 Murray River at Barham 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 Murray River at Barham 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 21 °C, wind to 16 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 19 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 24 °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 Murray is New South Wales water, and the VFA states that a NSW fishing licence is needed even when you stand on the Victorian bank; a Victorian licence is not valid on the river except in Lake Hume.
About this water
Murray River at Barham is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Murray River at Barham: the full guide
The Murray at Barham
Barham is the New South Wales town on the Murray facing Koondrook across the river on the Victorian side, joined by a bridge, in the red gum country between Swan Hill and Echuca; the VFA describes the red gum woodland from Koondrook to Murrabit as one of the two large forested areas left along the river. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Barham supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Murray at Swan Hill and Echuca have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Murray cod are the reason anglers come to Barham, holding in the red gum snags and the deep outside bends and taken on lures, spinnerbaits and bait; golden perch are the warm-weather fish on shrimp and worms; redfin and carp are common. The whole river is New South Wales water, so DPIRD’s cod closure, 1 September to 30 November, and its 55 to 75 cm slot with a bag of two apply from either bank; the species card computes the closure. Below Lake Hume the river is an endangered ecological community, and the VFA notes that silver perch, trout cod, Macquarie perch, blackfish and freshwater catfish may not be taken from it.
Where to fish it
The riverbank reserves at Barham and Koondrook, the forest tracks and the camping spots along the river give access to the snags, and the ramps put a boat onto the reach. The bends with fallen red gums are where the cod hold, and the VFA notes that a period of stable flow after a rise tends to fish best on the Murray.
Planning a visit
Barham and Koondrook, facing each other across the Murray, have caravan parks, pubs, supplies and ramps, and the red gum forest along the river has camping spots. Bring cod gear for the snags and bait for yellowbelly; the river is busy with boats in the summer holidays, and cod are closed in spring.
Reading this report here
Flows on this reach are managed from upstream storages, and the chart shows releases and environmental flows arriving; a rising river after a fresh moves the fish. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer and cold in winter; pressure and sky build the score at Barham.
Licence, access and rules
The Murray is New South Wales water, and the VFA states that a NSW fishing licence is needed even when you stand on the Victorian bank; a Victorian licence is not valid on the river except in Lake Hume. The NSW fee starts at A$7 for three days, on our New South Wales licence page. The reserves, forest camps and ramps are public under the forestry and parks rules.
Common questions
Which licence do I need on the Murray at Barham?
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, on either bank: the river is New South Wales water and a Victorian licence is not valid there.
When is Murray cod closed at Barham?
From 1 September to 30 November, under the New South Wales rules that cover the whole river.
What can I catch at Barham?
Murray cod, golden perch, redfin and carp.
Is fishing good at Murray River at Barham right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 409005 — MURRAY R @ BARHAM
- 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.