Dubbo Fishing Guide: Murray Cod, Golden Perch, Spots and Local Know-How

The Macquarie River through Dubbo is the heart of land-based and small-boat fishing in town — clear, accessible, lined with timber and producing both marquee natives within a few minutes of the main street. A string of council reserves give you the bank: Devil’s Hole Reserve on the northern edge of town (off Brisbane Street near the Newell Highway) is a long-standing fishing and boating spot; Sandy Beach Reserve (off Bligh Street) is a shallow sand-and-gravel beach that’s ideal for families; Regand Park Reserve has a weir worth a cast; Terramungamine Reserve to the north pairs fishing with the famous Aboriginal grinding grooves; and Dundullimal Reserve adds another quiet riverside option to the south.

The river rewards a bit of local knowledge. Cod hold around structure — sunken timber, undercut banks, the deeper holes and the water around the weir — and respond to surface lures, spinnerbaits and swimbaits worked slowly at dawn and dusk. Golden perch sit on similar structure and take both lures and bait; a yabby, shrimp, worm or bardi grub fished near snags is a classic Macquarie method. Through the heat of the day the natives go quiet, but the redfin and carp keep biting, so there’s rarely a dead session.

It suits just about everyone — families and kids off the sandy beaches and reserves, beginners after their first golden perch, and experienced anglers chasing a trophy cod in the timber. The one rule to honour above all others: Murray cod cannot be taken from 1 September to 30 November, and the big breeding fish should be photographed and released year-round, not put on the bank.

Murray cod are the reason many anglers come to Dubbo, and chasing them is the marquee fishing experience the river offers. The cod is an apex ambush predator — it sits tight against sunken timber, rock bars, undercut banks and the deeper holes, and explodes on anything that strays too close. The most thrilling way to catch one is on a surface lure at first or last light, when a big fish will smash a wake bait or paddler off the top in a heart-stopping boil. Through the day, sub-surface options earn their keep: spinnerbaits, swimbaits, lipless crankbaits and large soft plastics worked slowly around the structure.

Two rules govern cod fishing here, and both matter. First, the closed season: from 1 September to 30 November Murray cod must not be taken at all, anywhere on the river, to protect them while they spawn — during those months, target golden perch or redfin instead and give the cod a rest. Second, the slot: in the open season cod must be between 55 and 75cm to keep, with a bag limit of two, so both the little ones and the big breeders go back. Those big females in particular are the engine of the whole fishery.

It suits lure anglers and keen bait fishers who want a shot at an iconic native, and it’s the natural step up from a relaxed perch session. The honest caveat is that cod reward patience and gear discipline: use line and a rod heavy enough to land the fish quickly, keep a big cod in the water or support its whole body for the photo, limit air exposure to under thirty seconds, and release it gently. Fight one to exhaustion on light line and you’ll likely kill it.

If the Murray cod is the trophy, the golden perch — yellowbelly — is the bread and butter of Dubbo fishing, and the species most visitors will catch the most of. Goldens are available all year, pull surprisingly hard for their size, and are far more forgiving than cod: they’ll take a lure but happily eat bait, which makes them a brilliant target for newer anglers and for anyone who just wants a feed. A yabby, shrimp, scrub worm or bardi grub fished on a running sinker near a snag or in a river hole is the classic Macquarie approach, while smaller lures and spinnerbaits in yellow, red or green also do the job.

The golden perch you can keep must be at least 30cm, with a generous bag limit of five — so the river genuinely offers a sustainable feed when you find a school. Silver perch are the other member of the family you’ll encounter, but here’s the catch: silver perch are protected in NSW rivers and must be released, no matter the size. (You can only keep silvers from a handful of listed dams, Burrendong among them.) Knowing the difference between a golden and a silver matters, so if you’re unsure, let it go.

It suits everyone from a kid learning to read a river to an experienced angler resting the cod through the closed season — goldens are the perfect fall-back native from September to November. The honest note is that goldens can be moody, switching on and off with water temperature, flow and barometric pressure; work the structure, vary your offering, and fish the change of light for the best results.

When you want to commit a full day to native fishing, Burrendong Dam is the trip to make — a vast stocked impoundment about forty minutes south of Dubbo near Wellington, midway between Orange and Dubbo. Lake Burrendong holds Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch, redfin, catfish and carp across thousands of hectares of water studded with drowned timber, and it’s one of the Central West’s best-known fisheries. It rewards both the boat angler — trolling and casting lures around the standing timber, points and flats — and the bank fisher, with rocky shorelines and camp-side spots producing fish on bait.

The lake fishes a little differently to the river, and that’s part of the appeal. Murray cod come on more reliably through spring (note the same 1 Sep–30 Nov closed season still applies); golden and silver perch take bait and lures, and in the cold of June and July big schools of yellowbelly stack up hard against the trunks of the giant sunken trees, where patient anglers can find them in numbers. Redfin are a fun, abundant target on lures and jigs, and catfish come off the bank at night on bait under a running sinker. Importantly, Burrendong is one of the few waters where silver perch may legally be kept (25cm minimum) — unlike the river.

It suits anglers with a boat or kayak chasing variety, families happy to make a day or overnight of it (Reflections Holiday Parks operates here with ramps and camping, and day-visitor fees apply), and anyone who wants a bigger body of water than the town river. The honest caveats: it’s an impoundment, so check current ramp access and water levels before towing a boat down, observe the cod closed season here too, and remember that — for all its size — Burrendong is still a shared native fishery that needs the same careful handling and limits.

However you want to fish Dubbo, start by getting onto the water the easy way — and getting the rules right. A NSW recreational fishing licence is required for everyone fishing the river or the dam, including shore-based and freshwater fishing, and it’s quick and cheap to sort online through NSW DPI Fisheries (short three-day permits right up to three-year licences). A Dubbo tackle shop can sort your licence, point you to the fish, and set you up with the right yabbies, lures and bait — well worth a visit before your first session.

Dubbo is also a genuinely great place to introduce kids to fishing, and that’s where the pest species earn their keep. The sandy riverside reserves — Sandy Beach in particular — give little ones safe, shallow bank access, and the abundant redfin and carp mean near-constant bites: a kid will happily pull in pest fish all afternoon, and because both are introduced you’re encouraged to keep them out of the water rather than release them (carp must never be returned alive). It’s low-pressure, high-action fishing, and the perfect way to start, before stepping up to bait fishing for golden perch.

Most importantly, these are shared native fish that need looking after, so fish like you want it to be this good next year. Honour the Murray cod closed season (1 Sep–30 Nov); use gear heavy enough to land cod quickly rather than fighting them to exhaustion; keep big breeding cod in the water, support the whole fish and limit air time for a photo; release silver perch and undersized fish; observe the size and bag limits; and take your rubbish and old line home with you. Do that, and the Macquarie will keep producing for the next angler — and the next generation.