Murrumbidgee River at Hay Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murrumbidgee on the Hay plains: slow, wide cod and perch water through the saltbush, with the town weir and the Bureau’s gauge at Hay.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~13 °C est.
Air / High
19 °C / 33 °C
Wind
SSE 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 410002, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Murrumbidgee River at Hay has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 33 °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. Cooler at 31 °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 Murrumbidgee River at Hay today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:06), sunset (18:18), 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 410002 (MURRUMBIDGEE @ HAY).
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 / Low33 °C / 15 °C
WindSSE 6 km/h, gusts 9 km/h
Pressure1024.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain98% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:06 / 18:18
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Murrumbidgee River at Hay
The best day on Murrumbidgee River at Hay 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
- 06:06 to 18:18
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 1%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Murrumbidgee River at Hay: 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 Murrumbidgee River at Hay 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 Murrumbidgee River at Hay 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 29 °C, wind to 11 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 19 °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
Murrumbidgee River at Hay is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Murrumbidgee River at Hay: the full guide
The reach
The Murrumbidgee at Hay is the river far out on the plains, slow, wide and red-gum-lined through the saltbush country halfway between Wagga and Balranald, with the Hay Weir holding the town pool, Sandy Point beach, river parks and caravan parks, and long reaches of snags and bends into the empty country either way. It is cod and perch water of the western kind, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Hay supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod fish the snags, the weir pool 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 and run when the river rises; silver perch are protected; and carp are numerous under the DPIRD rules. Yabbies are a net fishery in the backwaters.
Where to fish it
Sandy Point, the river parks and the weir are the bank spots, with the weir pool the deep water in a low year; the ramps put a boat onto the reaches of timber upstream and downstream, where the river runs for kilometres with nobody on it. Night fishing along the snags with bait is the plains method, and the summer heat makes dawn and dusk the sessions.
Reading the report
The chart follows the irrigation releases from far upstream and the Hay Weir’s management of the pool; a rise brings the perch on and a summer heatwave shuts the river down at midday. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, runs hot on the plains and gives the cod band from November to April; the wind crosses the open country; 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. Sandy Point, the parks, the weir and the ramps are public; DPIRD’s limits and the cod closure are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Hay?
Murray cod in season, golden perch in the warm months, yabbies in the backwaters; silver perch are protected and go back.
Is there a beach at Hay?
Sandy Point, on the river in town, with bank fishing and a ramp nearby.
Is fishing good at Murrumbidgee River at Hay 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
- 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.