Cooby Dam Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The stocked dam north of Toowoomba: golden perch, Murray cod and silver perch, exempt from the cod closure, a Stocked Impoundment Permit water.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~13 °C est.
Air / High
20 °C / 21 °C
Wind
E 12 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Cooby Dam is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind E around 13 km/h, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: 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: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Warmer at 25 °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 Cooby Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:37), sunset (17:50), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% 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 temp20 °C
High / Low21 °C / 11 °C
WindE 12 km/h, gusts 29 km/h
Pressure1027.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 49%
Sunrise / Sunset05:37 / 17:50
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Cooby Dam
Today is the pick of the week on Cooby Dam, 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, 26 Sept — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:37 to 17:50
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 49%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Cooby Dam: 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
Open all year Cooby Dam is exempt from the closed season 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 Cooby Dam 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 Cooby Dam today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 21 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Thu, 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 23 °C, wind to 24 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 23 °C, wind to 23 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
Cooby Dam is a Stocked Impoundment Permit water: from age 18, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year as read from the Queensland Government; our Queensland licence page has the details.
About this water
Cooby Dam is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Cooby Dam: the full guide
Cooby Dam
Cooby Dam is the Toowoomba water-supply storage on Cooby Creek north of the city, a timbered lake in the upper Condamine catchment on the Darling Downs with a picnic area and paddle access. It is on the Queensland Government’s list of stocked impoundments. The Bureau of Meteorology does hold a storage series for the dam, but its readings reach Water Data Online late, so this page does not show a level chart rather than show a stale one.
Species and seasons
The Queensland Government lists golden perch, Murray cod and silver perch as stocked at Cooby. Golden perch are the fish most anglers catch, on shrimp, worms and lures along the timber; Murray cod hold in the drowned trees and the deeper water; silver perch school in the open lake. Cooby is one of the six Murray-Darling dams where Queensland’s Murray cod closed season does not apply, so cod may be taken all year within the limits; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The picnic area and the banks the water authority keeps open are the shore access at Cooby, casting to the standing timber and the points, and a kayak or a small craft under the dam’s rules reaches the drowned trees along the arms where the cod and the yellowbelly sit. The shallow bays warm first in spring.
Planning a visit
Cooby Dam is a short drive north of Toowoomba through the farming country around Meringandan, and Toowoomba has tackle and supplies. Buy the permit before you go. Bring cod and yellowbelly gear, and dress for the Downs, where winter mornings are frosty.
Reading this report here
Cooby is a sheltered lake and the wind row matters mostly on the main basin; without a current level series, the page leans on the weather rows and the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, which is warm in summer and cold in the Downs winter. Pressure and sky build the score at Cooby Dam, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Cooby Dam is a Stocked Impoundment Permit water: from age 18, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year as read from the Queensland Government; our Queensland licence page has the details. Toowoomba’s water authority sets the access and boating rules at the dam, and the Queensland size and bag limits apply; the rules are in the sources.
Common questions
Is Cooby Dam closed for Murray cod in spring?
No. Cooby is one of the dams the Queensland Government lists as exempt from the Murray-Darling cod closed season.
Why is there no level chart for Cooby Dam?
The Bureau’s storage series for Cooby reaches Water Data Online with a long delay, so the page shows no level rather than an old one.
Do I need a permit at Cooby Dam?
Yes. Anglers aged 18 and over need a Stocked Impoundment Permit.
Is fishing good at Cooby Dam 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.