Aroona Dam Fishing Report
Updated Tue, 29 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The former Leigh Creek supply dam in the northern Flinders Ranges: Murray cod and golden perch stocked in 2019, an SA Water permit, a live Bureau gauge and pest-control closures.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
9.84 m4,737 ML
Air / High
22 °C / 33 °C
Wind
E 19 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge A5100500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Aroona Dam is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 9.84 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 19 km/h, steady pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 33 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the waning gibbous, the solunar majors run 1:47 AM-3:47 AM and 1:47 PM-3:47 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. Catch and release only.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 1:47 AM-3:47 AM, 1:47 PM-3:47 PM, 8:17 AM-9:17 AM. Similar at 34 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
South Australia has no general fishing licence, but SA Water’s reservoir fishing permit is required here: A$12 for three consecutive days, A$24 for ten days or A$39.75 for a year (concession A$9.55, A$19.10, A$32.00), bought online from SA Water. Anglers 16 and over need one; under-16s may fish without one when with a permit holder, who may accompany up to five. Carry the permit and identification. National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia closes Aroona Sanctuary / Dam on set dates for pest control.
South Australia has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. South Australia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing murray cod here? Check the size and bag limits with PIRSA before you keep anything; the Murray cod page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Aroona Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:57), sunset (18:16), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 1:47 AM-3:47 AM and 1:47 PM-3:47 PM; minor 8:17 AM-9:17 AM. Waning Gibbous, 91% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station A5100500 (Aroona Creek at Aroona Dam).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station A5100500. Latest reading 2026-09-27 10:20.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp22 °C
High / Low33 °C / 21 °C
WindE 19 km/h, gusts 31 km/h
Pressure1024.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain10% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:57 / 18:16
MoonWaning Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Aroona Dam
The best day on Aroona Dam this week looks like Wednesday 30 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: Wednesday, 30 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 29 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 1:47 AM-3:47 AM and 1:47 PM-3:47 PM
- Minor period
- 8:17 AM-9:17 AM
- Sun
- 05:57 to 18:16
- Moon
- Waning Gibbous, 91% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 32 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Aroona Dam: 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
Release only Catch and release only, all year. Murray cod may be caught and released all year when reservoir fishing, and never kept. Rule as read from PIRSA on 2026-09-28.
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 Aroona 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 Aroona Dam today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataMon, Sep 28
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 32 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Sun, Sep 27
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 32 km/h.
Sat, Sep 26
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 32 °C, wind to 35 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by PIRSA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the South Australia licence page before you keep anything.
Access
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Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on South Australia dam levels today.
About this water
Aroona Dam is a lake in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Aroona Dam: the full guide
The dam
Aroona Dam lies 4 km south of the Leigh Creek township in the northern Flinders Ranges. It was once the key water source for the coal-mining town, but Landscape South Australia reported in 2019 that it no longer supplies water and remains a recreation space, open for fishing since 2018. National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia refers to the site as Aroona Sanctuary / Dam in its closure notices.
Stocking
In late February 2019, 10,000 Murray cod and 20,000 golden perch fingerlings went into the dam, funded with help from former mine operator Flinders Power working with the Department for Environment and Water and RecFish SA, Landscape South Australia recorded. That account was written before the fishing rules were settled. Today the dam is on SA Water’s list of waters where its reservoir fishing permit applies, and PIRSA includes it among the reservoirs open to recreational fishing.
Permit and limits
SA Water’s permit costs A$12 for three consecutive days, A$24 for ten days or A$39.75 for a year, with concession prices, and is needed from age 16. Under the reservoir limits that SA Water and PIRSA publish, Murray cod are catch and immediate release, while a golden perch must reach 33 cm to be kept, two per angler per day. Remove any carp or redfin rather than returning them. Any bait has to be your own, burley is banned, and SA Water states a preference for lures and flies.
Closures
National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia closes the sanctuary and dam at intervals for a pest-control program. Its notice lists four closures in 2026, and the last runs from 6 pm on 26 November until 6 am on 1 December 2026. Read its closures page before setting out, because Leigh Creek is a long drive from Adelaide and a locked gate costs the trip.
On the water and the bank
When the dam opened to paddlers on 1 April 2019, Landscape South Australia described it as open to non-motorised craft such as kayaks and canoes, with a floating safety barrier behind the dam wall and signs for on-water access. Paddle SA lists a 5 km loop paddle trail with parking above the dam. SA Water’s watercraft conditions do not name Aroona, so confirm the current rules on site before launching and keep clear of the barrier. From the bank, fish the edges near cover and any drop-offs toward deeper water.
Reading the report
Aroona’s level and 30-day chart are read from Bureau of Meteorology station A5100500, Aroona Creek at Aroona Dam, whose data owner is the Department for Environment and Water; it records frequently, so the reading shown is usually recent. Since the dam no longer supplies water, a falling level mostly reflects dry weather, and fish gather in the deeper water as the margins shrink. The water temperature is an estimate, and summer trips here call for plenty of water and shade.
Common questions
Do I need a permit to fish Aroona Dam?
Yes. SA Water lists Aroona Dam among the waters where its reservoir fishing permit is required, from A$12 for three days.
What fish are in Aroona Dam?
Murray cod and golden perch, stocked as fingerlings in 2019. Cod go back; golden perch may be kept from 33 cm, two a day.
Is Aroona Dam ever closed?
Yes. National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia closes it for pest control on set dates; the next one listed runs from 6 pm on 26 November to 6 am on 1 December 2026.
Is fishing good at Aroona 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
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station A5100500 — Aroona Creek at Aroona Dam
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- landscape.sa.gov.au/saal/news/20180904-new-life-for-aroona-dam
- parks.sa.gov.au/know-before-you-go/closures-and-alerts/aroona-sanctuar
- sawater.com.au/reservoir-reserves/activities/fishing
- sawater.com.au/forms/buy-a-fishing-permit
- sawater.com.au/reservoir-reserves/access-and-permits/conditions-of-acc
- pir.sa.gov.au/fishing-and-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/rules/reser
- paddlingtrailssouthaustralia.org.au/aroona-dam-paddling-trail
- bom.gov.au/waterdata
- 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.