Maranoa River at Mitchell Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Maranoa at Mitchell: yellowbelly and cod in the Maranoa town’s river, with a Bureau gauge and the Murray-Darling cod closure.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.21 m
Air / High
19 °C / 27 °C
Wind
NE 12 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 422401D, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Maranoa River at Mitchell has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.21 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 13 km/h, steady pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 27 °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 27 °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 Maranoa River at Mitchell today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:54), sunset (18:05), 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 422401D (Maranoa R Mitchell).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 422401D. Latest reading 2026-09-24 18:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low27 °C / 15 °C
WindNE 12 km/h, gusts 20 km/h
Pressure1027.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:54 / 18:05
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Maranoa River at Mitchell
Today is the pick of the week on Maranoa River at Mitchell, 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
- 05:54 to 18:05
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Clear, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Maranoa River at Mitchell: 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 Maranoa River at Mitchell 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 Maranoa River at Mitchell 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 28 °C, wind to 18 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 29 °C, wind to 21 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 33 °C, wind to 21 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
No general fishing licence is needed in Queensland; the cod closure and limits apply, on the pages linked below..
About this water
Maranoa River at Mitchell is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Maranoa River at Mitchell: the full guide
The Maranoa at Mitchell
Mitchell is the town on the Maranoa River west of Roma, known for its artesian spa, where the river winds between river red gums past the town and its weir toward the Balonne. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Mitchell supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Golden perch are the fish most anglers catch in the Maranoa at Mitchell, with Murray cod in the deeper holes and the snags. Queensland’s Murray cod closed season, 1 August to 31 October in its Murray-Darling waters, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The weir and the riverside reserves in Mitchell give bank access, and the river is fished from the bank in the pools.
Planning a visit
Mitchell is on the Warrego Highway, with supplies, camping by the river and the Great Artesian Spa. Bring bait for yellowbelly and cod lures.
The river through the year
The Maranoa rises in the ranges north of Mitchell and runs south through the Maranoa country to the Balonne, part of the Queensland Murray-Darling. At Mitchell it is a river of long, still pools between the red gums for most of the year, held by the town’s weir, and it rises and colours quickly after heavy rain upstream, sometimes spilling across the flats. Golden perch are most active on a rising river in the warm months, when bait and lures worked around the timber both take fish; Murray cod hold in the deeper holes and the snags, and the Queensland closure from 1 August to 31 October keeps them off limits from late winter into spring. The winter nights at Mitchell are cold and the fishing slows, then picks up again as the water warms. A visit can be paired with the artesian spa in town.
Reading this report here
The chart shows whether the Maranoa is flowing; it can drop to waterholes in dry spells. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is hot in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Mitchell.
Licence, access and rules
No general fishing licence is needed in Queensland; the cod closure and limits apply, on the pages linked below.
Common questions
When is Murray cod closed at Mitchell?
From 1 August to 31 October.
What can I catch at Mitchell?
Golden perch, with Murray cod in the deeper holes.
Do I need a licence at Mitchell?
No. Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence.
Is fishing good at Maranoa River at Mitchell 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 422401D — Maranoa R Mitchell
- 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.