Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Murray River at Swan Hill Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murray at Swan Hill: cod and golden perch in a slow Mallee river that is New South Wales water from bank to bank, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
1.80 m
Air / High
19 °C / 26 °C
Wind
ENE 7 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 409204, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Murray River at Swan Hill sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. The gauge reads 1.80 m, easing 0.22 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind ENE around 6 km/h, steady pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 26 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:33 PM-1:33 AM and 12:01 PM-2:01 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Murray cod
Closed today
Reopens 1 Dec 2026. Closed 1 September to 30 November in all waters except Blowering and Copeton dams.
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: 11:33 PM-1:33 AM, 12:01 PM-2:01 PM, 5:17 AM-6:17 AM. Warmer at 32 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
The Murray River is New South Wales water from bank to bank, including along the Victorian shore, so the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies here and a Victorian licence does not (the Victorian Fisheries Authority makes the one exception for Lake Hume).
New South Wales requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$7.00. New South Wales fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing murray cod here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD NSW before you keep anything; the Murray cod page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Murray River at Swan Hill today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:16), sunset (20:03), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:33 PM-1:33 AM and 12:01 PM-2:01 PM; minor 5:17 AM-6:17 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 409204 (MURRAY @ SWAN HILL).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 409204. Latest reading 2026-11-07 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low26 °C / 9 °C
WindENE 7 km/h, gusts 15 km/h
Pressure1014.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:16 / 20:03
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Murray River at Swan Hill
The best day on Murray River at Swan Hill this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 11:33 PM-1:33 AM and 12:01 PM-2:01 PM
- Minor period
- 5:17 AM-6:17 AM
- Sun
- 06:16 to 20:03
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Murray River at Swan Hill: 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 Reopens 1 Dec 2026. Closed 1 September to 30 November in all waters except Blowering and Copeton dams. Rule as read from DPIRD NSW on 2026-09-23.
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 Swan Hill 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 Swan Hill 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 22 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 26 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 26 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by DPIRD NSW and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the New South Wales licence page before you keep anything.
Access
According to the VFA, the Murray is New South Wales water from bank to bank: a NSW fishing licence is required even from the Victorian side, and a Victorian licence is not valid on the river.
About this water
Murray River at Swan Hill is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Murray River at Swan Hill: the full guide
The reach
The Murray at Swan Hill is slow and wide between red gums and river flats, with the town on the Victorian bank and long, quiet reaches into the Mallee in both directions. The VFA’s river guide describes the Echuca to Swan Hill section as having extensive shallow water toward Swan Hill, with fishing still available in the deep gutters and pools. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Swan Hill, station 409204, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish, with the cod closure of 1 September to 30 November computed on the species card. The VFA guide lists carp, redfin and Murray crayfish in this part of the river, and some silver perch and freshwater catfish, the catfish protected near Murrabit; it also states that silver perch and catfish may not be taken from the Murray at all. The limits that apply are those of New South Wales.
Where to fish it
Riverside parkland at the town gives bank access, and ramps put a boat onto the snag reaches upstream and down. With so much shallow water, the deep gutters, outside bends and snag piles are where to spend the time; the VFA notes that cod rest close to submerged timber and in water more than two metres deep. Bait fished quietly at night is a standard approach through summer.
Reading the report
River height at Swan Hill reflects releases from upstream storages and weirs, arriving days after they are made, as well as rain. A steady river after a rise is the classic window. The water temperature on this page is modelled rather than measured, and it runs hot in the Mallee summer; the open country lets the wind across the water, so read the wind row before launching a small boat.
Licence, access and rules
According to the VFA, the Murray is New South Wales water from bank to bank: a NSW fishing licence is required even from the Victorian side, and a Victorian licence is not valid on the river. A three-day NSW Recreational Fishing Fee costs A$7, and every fish kept must meet the New South Wales size and bag limits.
Common questions
What can I catch at Swan Hill?
Murray cod outside the spring closure and golden perch, with carp and redfin; silver perch and freshwater catfish may not be taken from the Murray.
Do I need a NSW licence at Swan Hill?
Yes. The Murray is New South Wales water, so the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies even when fishing from the Victorian bank.
Is fishing good at Murray River at Swan Hill 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 409204 — MURRAY @ SWAN HILL
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- 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.