Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Murray River at Murray Bridge Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murray at Murray Bridge: callop and catch-and-release cod on the lower river above Lake Alexandrina, with the Bureau’s gauge at Long Island.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.84 m
Air / High
21 °C / 27 °C
Wind
NE 15 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge A4261162, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Murray River at Murray Bridge has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 0.84 m, holding steady. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NE around 14 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 11:49 AM-1:49 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, 11:49 AM-1:49 PM, 5:05 AM-6:05 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 Murray Bridge today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:03), sunset (19:50), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:49 AM-1:49 PM; minor 5:05 AM-6:05 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station A4261162 (River Murray at Murray Bridge (Long Island)).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station A4261162. Latest reading 2026-11-07 09:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp21 °C
High / Low27 °C / 11 °C
WindNE 15 km/h, gusts 26 km/h
Pressure1012.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain32% cloud, 69%
Sunrise / Sunset06:03 / 19:50
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Murray River at Murray Bridge
The best day on Murray River at Murray Bridge this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:49 AM-1:49 PM
- Minor period
- 5:05 AM-6:05 AM
- Sun
- 06:03 to 19:50
- 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 Murray Bridge: 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 Murray Bridge 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 Murray Bridge today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
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 23 °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 18 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
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 25 °C, wind to 23 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 general fishing licence; PIRSA’s limits and the Murray cod rules, linked below, apply.
About this water
Murray River at Murray Bridge is a river in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Murray River at Murray Bridge: the full guide
The reach
Murray Bridge is the river city where road and rail bridges cross the lower Murray and Sturt Reserve lines the bank. Downstream the river passes Tailem Bend and Wellington before it opens into Lake Alexandrina. Bureau of Meteorology station A4261162, River Murray at Murray Bridge (Long Island), supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Callop, South Australia’s golden perch, are the main fish to keep, best in the warmer months. Murray cod are catch and release only in the South Australian Murray, from 1 January to 31 July; from 1 August to 31 December they may not be targeted at all, and none may ever be kept. Silver perch are protected. Cod caught for release should stay in the water where possible and be unhooked quickly; PIRSA advises barbless hooks and a knotless landing net.
Where to fish it
Sturt Reserve, the riverfront parks and public ramps are the easiest ways onto the water. Bridge pylons, fallen trees and deep outside bends hold fish, and the reaches toward Mypolonga upstream and Wellington downstream are worth exploring by boat. Night fishing with bait near timber is a long-standing callop method on the lower river.
Reading the report
With no lock below Blanchetown, the level at Murray Bridge is not held by a lock pool, and the chart usually changes slowly with the flow of the lower river. A clear rise signals more water coming down the Murray. Callop are most active once the modelled water temperature, an estimate that says so on the page, climbs in spring.
Rules and access
South Australia has no general fishing licence; PIRSA’s limits and the Murray cod rules, linked below, apply. Reserves, the riverfront and the ramps are public; the bridge pylons are best fished from a boat.
Wellington and the lakes
Below Murray Bridge the river runs past Tailem Bend to Wellington, where a ferry crosses it and the Murray opens into Lake Alexandrina. The lake has its own page and its own section of PIRSA’s rules, and beyond it the barrages separate the lakes from the Coorong and the sea.
Common questions
What can I catch at Murray Bridge?
Callop within PIRSA’s limits and Murray cod for release only, January to July; silver perch are protected.
Do I need a licence at Murray Bridge?
No. There is no general recreational fishing licence in South Australia, though PIRSA’s limits and closures apply.
Is fishing good at Murray River at Murray Bridge 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 A4261162 — River Murray at Murray Bridge (Long Island)
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- pir.sa.gov.au/fishing-and-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/rules/speci
- pir.sa.gov.au/fishing-and-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/rules/speci
- sawater.com.au/water-and-the-environment/south-australias-water-source
- 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.