Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Murray River at Mannum Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murray at Mannum: callop and catch-and-release cod on the unlocked lower river below Lock 1, with ferries, a busy riverfront and the Bureau’s gauge at the town wharf.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
0.93 m
Air / High
21 °C / 27 °C
Wind
ENE 13 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge A4261161, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Murray River at Mannum has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 0.93 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind ENE around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Murray cod
Closed today
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 and in lakes Albert and Alexandrina; from 1 August to 31 December cod may not be targeted at all, trolling included.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 11:21 PM-1:21 AM, 11:48 AM-1:48 PM, 5:06 AM-6:06 AM. Similar at 29 °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 Murray River at Mannum today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:03), sunset (19:49), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM; minor 5:06 AM-6:06 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station A4261161 (River Murray adjacent Mannum Town Wharf).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station A4261161. Latest reading 2026-11-07 09:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp21 °C
High / Low27 °C / 11 °C
WindENE 13 km/h, gusts 21 km/h
Pressure1012.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain60% cloud, 69%
Sunrise / Sunset06:03 / 19:49
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Murray River at Mannum
Today is the pick of the week on Murray River at Mannum, at 4 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM
- Minor period
- 5:06 AM-6:06 AM
- Sun
- 06:03 to 19:49
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 69%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Murray River at Mannum: 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
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 and in lakes Albert and Alexandrina; 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.
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. Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
When to come: the Murray River at Mannum 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 19 °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 Murray River at Mannum today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 26 °C, wind to 26 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 has no recreational fishing licence; PIRSA’s size, bag and boat limits and the cod rules, linked below, apply.
About this water
Murray River at Mannum is a river in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Murray River at Mannum: the full guide
The reach
Mannum sits on the lower Murray below Lock 1, where the river runs wide between cliffs and flats toward Murray Bridge and the lakes. The town has a busy riverfront and ferry crossings, and upstream the small settlements of Younghusband, Bowhill and Purnong line the river. Bureau of Meteorology station A4261161, River Murray adjacent Mannum Town Wharf, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Callop are the everyday catch from spring through autumn. Murray cod may be fished for only on a catch-and-release basis between 1 January and 31 July, may not be targeted from 1 August to 31 December, and can never be kept from the River Murray in South Australia. Silver perch are protected and must be released.
Where to fish it
The riverfront, parks and reserves around town give plenty of bank access, and public ramps put boats on the river. Target fallen timber, the base of cliffs and deeper outside bends, and look for backwaters and lagoon inlets when the river is flowing into them. Houseboats and ski boats share this reach, so early mornings and weekdays are the quieter times on the water.
Reading the report
Lock 1 at Blanchetown is the last lock on the South Australian Murray, so at Mannum the level is not held by a lock pool and the chart moves with the flow of the lower river. A rising line points to more water coming down from upstream. The page’s water temperature is a model figure, marked as such, and callop fishing picks up as it warms in spring.
Rules and access
South Australia has no recreational fishing licence; PIRSA’s size, bag and boat limits and the cod rules, linked below, apply. The riverfront and ramps are public land; check before crossing any riverfront that looks private.
Younghusband and Bowhill
Upstream of Mannum the river passes the small settlements of Younghusband, Bowhill and Purnong, where the cliffs close in and the river is quieter than at the town. The fishing is the same mix of callop and released cod, and a boat from Mannum can reach these reaches in a morning; downstream, Murray Bridge and then Lake Alexandrina have their own pages.
Common questions
What can I catch at Mannum?
Callop within PIRSA’s limits, Murray cod for release from January to July, and silver perch only to release.
Is there a lock at Mannum?
No. Lock 1 at Blanchetown, upstream of Mannum, is the last lock in South Australia; below it the river runs unlocked toward the lakes.
Is fishing good at Murray River at Mannum right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station A4261161 — River Murray adjacent Mannum Town Wharf
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- sawater.com.au/water-and-the-environment/south-australias-water-source
- pir.sa.gov.au/fishing-and-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/rules/speci
- pir.sa.gov.au/fishing-and-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/rules/speci
- pir.sa.gov.au/fishing-and-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/rules/fishi
- 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.