Lake Albert Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lower lake beside Lake Alexandrina at Meningie: callop, redfin and the other fish of the freshwater lakes behind the barrages, with no current gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~13 °C est.
Air / High
11 °C / 14 °C
Wind
SE 14 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Albert is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 13 km/h, falling pressure near 1034 hPa and a high of 14 °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. Similar at 14 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
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 Lake Albert today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:56), sunset (18:11), 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 temp11 °C
High / Low14 °C / 11 °C
WindSE 14 km/h, gusts 22 km/h
Pressure1033.8 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain95% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:56 / 18:11
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Albert
The best day on Lake Albert 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, 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
- 05:56 to 18:11
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Albert: 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 Catch and release reopens 1 Jan 2027. No Murray cod may be taken at any time from the River Murray or lakes Albert and Alexandrina. Catch and release is allowed from 1 January to 31 July, except on the Chowilla floodplain; from 1 August to 31 December cod may not be targeted at all, trolling included. Rule as read from PIRSA on 2026-09-25.
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 Lake Albert 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 Lake Albert 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 22 °C, wind to 16 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 24 °C, wind to 19 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 21 °C, wind to 14 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
South Australia needs no fishing licence at Lake Albert; PIRSA sets the size, bag and boat limits and the Murray cod rule, release only and never kept, on the pages linked from this page.
About this water
Lake Albert is a lake in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Albert: the full guide
Lake Albert
Lake Albert is the smaller of the two Lower Lakes at the end of the River Murray, joined to Lake Alexandrina by a narrow passage near Narrung, a broad, shallow lake with the town of Meningie on its south-western shore and the Coorong just beyond the dunes. Its water is held fresh behind the barrages that separate the lakes from the Coorong and the sea. The Bureau of Meteorology lists lake level stations on Lake Albert, but none reports recent readings to Water Data Online, so this page carries no level chart. Lake Alexandrina and the Coorong have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Golden perch, which South Australians call callop, are the native fish most anglers target in Lake Albert, along with redfin; carp are abundant and removing them is encouraged; Murray cod turn up in the lower lakes from time to time. PIRSA sets the size and bag limits; Murray cod may never be kept from lakes Albert and Alexandrina, are catch and release only from 1 January to 31 July, and may not be targeted from 1 August to 31 December, computed on the species card.
Where to fish it
The Meningie foreshore and jetty are the easiest access to Lake Albert, and the shores reached from the roads toward Narrung and the Narrung passage are the other spots. The lake is shallow, so a boat covers ground quickly, but the wind makes it rough fast.
Planning a visit
Meningie is on the Princes Highway south-east of Adelaide, with a caravan park, a pub and supplies on the lake shore, and the Coorong National Park just across the dunes. Bring bait for callop and redfin, a sturdy boat if you plan to leave the shore, and a close eye on the wind forecast, which decides every trip on the Lower Lakes.
Reading this report here
Lake Albert is broad and shallow and the wind row is the number that decides the day: a strong south-westerly stirs the whole lake to mud and makes it dangerous for small boats. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer and cool in winter; pressure and sky build the score at Lake Albert, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
South Australia needs no fishing licence at Lake Albert; PIRSA sets the size, bag and boat limits and the Murray cod rule, release only and never kept, on the pages linked from this page. The Meningie foreshore and the jetty are public, and the Coorong National Park, across the dunes, has its own rules.
Common questions
Do I need a licence to fish Lake Albert?
No. South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence; PIRSA’s limits still apply.
What can I catch in Lake Albert?
Golden perch, known locally as callop, and redfin are the main catch; carp are common, and Murray cod appear occasionally and must be released.
Why is there no level chart for Lake Albert?
None of the Bureau’s Lake Albert stations reports recent readings to Water Data Online, so the page shows no level rather than an old one.
Is fishing good at Lake Albert 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.