Fishing in Murray Valley National Park

Murray Valley National Park sits in the NSW Riverina, protecting river red gum forests and Ramsar-listed wetlands along the Murray River system.

It's floodplain country — a landscape of slow-moving channels, billabongs, and interconnected creeks that fill and drain with the seasons.

The park is one of the state's newer national parks, established alongside the regional park that stretches the same corridor. The Murray River is the backbone of the fishing here.

Murray cod, golden perch (yellowbelly), bream, catfish, and redfin all move through the park's waters, along with other species that follow the river's rhythms.

The wetland system means fish can scatter widely when water is up, and concentrate in the deeper channels and holes when it drops back.

Moira Lake and the Moira Inlet Channel sit within the park and are part of that broader wetland complex — the kind of water that rewards patience and local knowledge over brute-force coverage.

The Edward River and Wakool River run through or alongside park country, as do smaller channels and creeks — Gulpa Creek, Cornalla Creek, and others — that thread through the red gum forest.

These quieter waters can fish well for cod and perch, particularly when the main river is running hard or coloured up. Access varies across the park. Much of it is reached by dirt tracks that can close after rain — the clay soils in this country cut quickly.

Canoe and kayak travel suits the wetland sections well, and some of the best water is only reachable that way. You'll need a NSW fishing licence before you go.

Check current regulations with NSW Fisheries and the park directly before your trip, as conditions and rules in protected wetland areas can change. The red gums here are old and the water moves on its own schedule. Fish it like that.