Murray River at Morgan Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murray at Morgan: cod and callop where the river turns south at the old port, on the pool above Lock 1, with the Bureau’s gauge below the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.00 m
Air / High
17 °C / 30 °C
Wind
SSW 15 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge A4261110, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Murray River at Morgan has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.00 m, holding steady. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSW around 14 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 29 °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 25 °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 Morgan today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:57), sunset (18:09), 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 A4261110 (River Murray downstream Morgan (AMTD 316.5km)).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station A4261110. Latest reading 2026-09-24 09:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp17 °C
High / Low30 °C / 14 °C
WindSSW 15 km/h, gusts 25 km/h
Pressure1024.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain25% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset05:57 / 18:09
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Murray River at Morgan
The best day on Murray River at Morgan this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 2 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 — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:57 to 18:09
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 2%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Murray River at Morgan: 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 Morgan 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 Morgan 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 30 °C, wind to 11 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 26 °C, wind to 14 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 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
No licence in South Australia; PIRSA’s limits, linked below, are the rules, and Murray cod go back: release only, January to July.
About this water
Murray River at Morgan is a river in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Murray River at Morgan: the full guide
The reach
The Murray at Morgan is the reach where the river turns south toward the sea at the old railway port, running under the cliffs past the town’s wharf, the ferry, the caravan parks and the shacks toward Blanchetown and Lock 1, with the Cadell reaches upstream. It is cod and callop water on the longest lock pool on the river, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge below Morgan supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Cod hold on the snags, under the cliffs and in the deep bends from summer into autumn, taking 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; and carp are the numbers fish. Yabbies are a net fishery in the backwaters.
Where to fish it
The wharf, the ferry landing and the caravan parks give bank access at the town, the ramps put a boat onto the pool downstream toward Blanchetown and upstream toward Cadell, and the cliffs and the snags of the bends are the cod water; the shack reaches below the town are quiet water. After dark with bait on the snags is how Morgan fishes cod, released at the boat, in the months PIRSA allows it.
Reading the report
Lock 1 holds the pool nearly steady, so the chart moves little except in a flood; the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, runs hot in summer and gives the callop and cod band from November to April. The cliffs shelter the water from some winds; pressure counts before a summer storm.
Rules and access
No licence in South Australia; PIRSA’s limits, linked below, are the rules, and Murray cod go back: release only, January to July. The wharf, the ferry landing and the ramps are public.
Cadell and Waikerie upstream
Above Morgan the river runs through Cadell and Waikerie, the cliff-lined reaches of the mid-Murray where the houseboats moor under the limestone and the callop fish the cliff bases, and the Waikerie ferry reach is another town water an hour upstream; the Morgan reach is where the cliffs turn south and the river begins its run to the lakes.
Common questions
What can I catch at Morgan?
Murray cod for release only, January to July, callop in the warm months, yabbies in the backwaters, carp; silver perch are protected.
Do I need a licence at Morgan?
No; South Australia sells no recreational licence, and PIRSA’s limits apply.
Is fishing good at Murray River at Morgan right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station A4261110 — River Murray downstream Morgan (AMTD 316.5km)
- 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.