Condamine River at Chinchilla Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Condamine at Chinchilla: cod and golden perch in the weir pool of the western Downs, under the Queensland cod closure, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.75 m
Air / High
17 °C / 26 °C
Wind
ENE 15 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 422308C, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Condamine River at Chinchilla is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 0.75 m, easing 0.14 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 14 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 26 °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 24 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Queensland has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. Queensland fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing murray cod here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Murray cod page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Condamine River at Chinchilla today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:44), sunset (17:54), 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 422308C (Condamine_Chinchilla).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 422308C. Latest reading 2026-09-24 18:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp17 °C
High / Low26 °C / 12 °C
WindENE 15 km/h, gusts 27 km/h
Pressure1029.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 10%
Sunrise / Sunset05:44 / 17:54
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Condamine River at Chinchilla
Today is the pick of the week on Condamine River at Chinchilla, at 3 out of 5. 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: today, 25 Sept — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
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
- 05:44 to 17:54
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 10%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Condamine River at Chinchilla: 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 Nov 2026. Closed 1 August to 31 October in Queensland’s Murray-Darling fresh waters, except Connolly, Cooby, Coolmunda, Glenlyon, Leslie and Storm King dams. Rule as read from Queensland Department of Primary Industries 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 Condamine River at Chinchilla 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 Condamine River at Chinchilla 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 27 °C, wind to 27 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 28 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 31 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence; permits apply on some waters and the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by Queensland DPI and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Queensland licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits and the Murray-Darling cod closure apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Condamine River at Chinchilla is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Condamine River at Chinchilla: the full guide
The reach
The Condamine at Chinchilla is the western Downs river held into a long pool by the Chinchilla weir south of the melon town, running between river gums and brigalow toward the Balonne, with the weir park, the ramp and the reaches of snags upstream toward Condamine. It is cod and perch water on a weir pool, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Chinchilla supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod fish the snags, the weir and the deep bends through summer and autumn on lures and bait, with the Queensland Murray-Darling closure from 1 August to 31 October computed on the species card; golden perch are the everyday fish from spring to autumn; eel-tailed catfish and spangled perch are present; and carp are numerous. Red claw are a pot fishery in the pool.
Where to fish it
The weir park and the ramp give bank and boat access to the pool, the water below the weir is the cod hole, and a boat covers the pool upstream through the timber; the deep bends and the snags are the water. Night fishing along the pool’s snags is the summer method.
Reading the report
The weir holds the pool nearly steady, so the chart moves little except in a flood; the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the cod band from November to April. The open Downs let the wind cross the pool; pressure counts before a summer storm.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits and the Murray-Darling cod closure apply, on the pages linked below. The park and the ramp are public; the weir has its exclusion zone.
The western Downs
Chinchilla sits where the Condamine leaves the Darling Downs for the brigalow country toward the Balonne, and the weir pool is the town’s water for skiing and fishing both, with the melon festival on the bank in February; the river below the weir runs on through Condamine township to Surat and St George, a long, quiet cod and perch water reached by the back roads.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Chinchilla weir pool?
Murray cod outside the August to October closure, golden perch in the warm months, catfish, and red claw in the pots.
Do I need a licence at Chinchilla?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; the limits and the cod closure apply.
Is fishing good at Condamine River at Chinchilla 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 422308C — Condamine_Chinchilla
- 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.