Murray River at Mannum Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murray at Mannum: cod and callop on the houseboat river below the cliffs, with the ferry, the wharf and the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.86 m
Air / High
15 °C / 29 °C
Wind
SW 14 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge A4261161, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Murray River at Mannum rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 0.86 m, holding steady. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SW around 14 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 28 °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. Cooler at 18 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. 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 (05:58), sunset (18:11), 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 A4261161 (River Murray adjacent Mannum Town Wharf).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station A4261161. Latest reading 2026-09-24 09:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low29 °C / 13 °C
WindSW 14 km/h, gusts 23 km/h
Pressure1025.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain48% cloud, 11%
Sunrise / Sunset05:58 / 18:11
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Murray River at Mannum
The best day on Murray River at Mannum this week looks like Saturday 26 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: Saturday, 26 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
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
- 05:58 to 18:11
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 11%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
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
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 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 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 Murray River at Mannum 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 27 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at good. High of 24 °C, wind to 13 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 19 °C, wind to 10 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 licenses no recreational fishing; PIRSA’s size, bag and boat limits apply, and Murray cod are release only from January to July, on the pages linked below.
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
The Murray at Mannum is the houseboat town’s river an hour from Adelaide, running wide and slow under the cliffs past the wharf, the ferries, the riverfront and the caravan parks toward Murray Bridge, with the shack reaches and the backwaters of Younghusband and Bowhill upstream. It is cod and callop water on the lower river, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Mannum wharf supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod fish the snags, the cliffs and the deep bends through summer and autumn on bait and lures, but they are catch and release only in South Australia, from 1 January to 31 July, and not to be targeted at all from 1 August to 31 December, as PIRSA sets it; callop are the everyday fish from spring to autumn; silver perch are protected; carp are the numbers fish; and the houseboats share the water. The backwaters give yabbies in the nets.
Where to fish it
The riverfront, the wharf and the caravan parks give bank access at the town, the ramps put a boat onto the reaches upstream toward Bowhill and downstream toward Murray Bridge, and the cliffs and the snags of the bends are the cod water; the backwaters are a kayak fishery for callop. Bait on the snags after dark is the Mannum way.
Reading the report
The lower river is held by the barrages far below and moves little on the chart except in a flood; the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the callop and cod band from November to April. The open country lets the wind cross the river; pressure counts before a summer storm.
Rules and access
South Australia licenses no recreational fishing; PIRSA’s size, bag and boat limits apply, and Murray cod are release only from January to July, on the pages linked below. The riverfront, the wharf and the ramps are public.
Younghusband and Bowhill
Upstream of Mannum the shack towns of Younghusband, Bowhill and Purnong line the river under the cliffs, with ferries at each and reaches that fish the same as the town water but with fewer boats; the Bowhill reach is the local anglers’ choice for cod, and the backwaters behind the levees are callop and yabby water in a kayak.
Common questions
What can I catch at Mannum?
Murray cod for release only, January to July, and callop from spring to autumn, with yabbies from the backwaters and carp everywhere; silver perch go back.
Do I need a licence at Mannum?
No. There is no recreational fishing licence in South Australia; PIRSA’s limits apply.
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: 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 A4261161 — River Murray adjacent Mannum Town Wharf
- 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.