Murray River at Swan Hill Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Murray at Swan Hill: cod and golden perch through the Mallee river town and its red gums, with the Bureau’s gauge at the bridge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
2.72 m
Air / High
19 °C / 28 °C
Wind
SSW 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 has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 2.72 m, easing 0.82 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSW around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 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 23 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Victoria requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$10.00. Victoria fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing murray cod here? Check the size and bag limits with VFA 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 (06:11), sunset (18:24), 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 409204 (MURRAY @ SWAN HILL).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 409204. Latest reading 2026-09-23 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low28 °C / 16 °C
WindSSW 7 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1024.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain40% cloud, 30%
Sunrise / Sunset06:11 / 18:24
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °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 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
- 06:11 to 18:24
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 30%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
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
December to August; closed September to November
Closed now Reopens 1 Dec 2026. Closed 1 September to 30 November inclusive, except in Lake Eildon, Eildon Pondage, Lake Eppalock, Cairn Curran, Lake Nillahcootie and the other waters the VFA lists. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority 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. 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 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 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 Swan Hill 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 28 °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 23 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
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 18 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), from A$10.00, 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 VFA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Victoria licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies on the Victorian bank unless exempt, the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee on the other; both are on our licence pages.
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 the river through the Mallee town of the pioneer settlement, slow and wide between red gums and river flats with the Swan Hill bridge, the Riverside Park, caravan parks and the Little Murray and Marraboor waters joining it, and long, quiet reaches into the Mallee either way. It is cod and perch water with a river town on it, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Swan Hill supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod fish the snags, the bridge and the deep bends through summer and autumn on bait and lures, with the VFA bag of one in the river and the closure from 1 September to 30 November computed on the species card; golden perch are the everyday fish from spring to autumn; silver perch are protected; and carp are the numbers fish under the VFA rules. The New South Wales bank follows the DPIRD rule with the same dates.
Where to fish it
Riverside Park and the bridge give bank access at the town, the caravan parks give the reaches either side, and the ramps put a boat onto reaches of snags upstream toward Nyah and downstream toward the Wakool junction; the deep outside bends and the timber are the cod water, and the Little Murray is quieter perch water. Night fishing with bait along the snags is the local method.
Reading the report
The chart follows the upstream releases with days of delay, high through the summer irrigation season and falling in autumn; the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, runs hot in the Mallee summer and gives the cod band from November to April. The open country lets the wind cross the river; pressure counts before a summer storm.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies on the Victorian bank unless exempt, the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee on the other; both are on our licence pages. The park, the bridge and the ramps are public; the VFA limits, the river bag and the closure are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Swan Hill?
Murray cod in season, golden perch in the warm months, carp; silver perch are protected and go back.
Do I need a licence at Swan Hill?
The Victorian licence on the Victorian bank unless exempt; the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee on the New South Wales 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: 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 409204 — MURRAY @ SWAN HILL
- 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.