Australia Fly Guide
ACT · Murrumbidgee River

Cotter Dam to the Murrumbidgee

Imagery © Esri

Below the wall of Cotter Dam the river has a short run left before it meets the Murrumbidgee, and the territory treats that last run as open water rather than trout water. It is the one part of the river where the open-water rules apply.

The shape is a tailwater from the dam to a junction.

The fish record here is thin: brown trout turn up in a survey on this stretch, but nothing since 1992, which is a gap in the record rather than proof they have gone. The trout water proper is upstream. Treat it as a place to look at the water, or to fish on the open-water rules if you see a reason to.

The rules are the open-water set: up to two rods or handlines at once with a landing net, no more than two hooks, two flies or one lure on each rod, and you must stay within ten metres of your gear and keep it in sight.

If you came for trout, drive up to the stretch below Bendora Dam.

River map & ways in

The water from source to end, with mapped tracks and walking lines

River map and ways in to Cotter River

Murrumbidgee River Porcupine Creek Dry Creek Mosquito Creek Kangaroo Creek Jacks Creek Stockyard Creek Bushrangers Creek Collins Creek Long Creek Franklin Creek Paddys River Burkes Creek Pierces Creek Clear Hills Creek Gingera Creek Cow Flat Creek Snowy Flat Creek Little Bimberi Creek White Sands Creek De Salis Creek Mckeahnie Creek Pond Creek Condor Creek Cribbs Creek Bullock Head Creek Licking Hole Creek Corin Dam Bendora Dam Cotter Dam Headwaters to Corin Dam Bendora Dam to Condor Creek Condor Creek to Cotter Dam Cotter Dam to the Murrumbidgee Headwaters to Corin Dam — no angling at any time Condor Creek to Cotter Dam — no angling at any time Corin Dam — no angling at any time Bendora Dam — no angling at any time Cotter Dam — no angling at any time Corin Dam to Bendora Dam — no angling at any time Cotter River Murrumbidgee Riveropen_in_new Porcupine Creek Dry Creek Mosquito Creek Kangaroo Creek Jacks Creek Stockyard Creek Bushrangers Creek Collins Creek Long Creek Franklin Creek Paddys Riveropen_in_new Burkes Creek Pierces Creek Clear Hills Creek Gingera Creek Cow Flat Creek Snowy Flat Creek Little Bimberi Creek White Sands Creek De Salis Creek Mckeahnie Creek Pond Creek Condor Creek Cribbs Creek Bullock Head Creek Licking Hole Creek Walk in along Concrete Road Walk in along Bracks Hole Road Walk in along Bfg Road Walk in along Bullen Range Road Walk in along Priors Road Leave Paddys River Road here Bfg Road Leave Old Mine Road here Bullen Range Road Cotter Road Paddys River Road Leave Priors Road here Unnamed track off Priors Road Brindabella Road Leave Crusher Road here Priors Road Leave Cotter Road here Unnamed track off Cotter Road Source Source Into Corin Dam Into Corin Dam Corin Dam wall Corin Dam wall Into Bendora Dam Into Bendora Dam Bendora Dam wall Bendora Dam wall Condor Creek Condor Creek Into Cotter Dam Into Cotter Dam Cotter Dam wall Cotter Dam wall Murrumbidgee River Murrumbidgee River 1 Headwaters to Corin Dam Reach 1: Headwaters to Corin Dam 2 Bendora Dam to Condor Creek Reach 2: Bendora Dam to Condor Creek 3 Condor Creek to Cotter Dam Reach 3: Condor Creek to Cotter Dam 4 Cotter Dam to the Murrumbidgee Reach 4: Cotter Dam to the Murrumbidgee
permanent no-angling water numbered fishing stretch river landmark sealed road unsealed 4WD walking track and walk-in leave the road listed way in named nearby, not confirmed mapped approach, not confirmed access this stretch

Numbers identify fishing stretches, not access points. Tap an access diamond, its walking line, or a cross-hatched no-angling section, to open the details on the map. Nearby items within the same click range open together. Unmarked water is not a guarantee that fishing is allowed; seasonal and other rules still apply.

A track shown here is not a guarantee of access — check current closures and gate status with the land manager before you rely on it, and ask where the way in crosses private ground. A meeting is counted where the mapped track comes within 250 m of the mapped channel.

Water and habitat

The stretch runs from the Cotter Dam outflow to the junction with the Murrumbidgee, a tailwater below the dam.

Fish and forage

Brown trout are on the survey record for this stretch, though nothing since 1992; treat that as a gap in the record, not evidence the fish have gone. Murray cod may reach it from nearby water, but there is no survey record of them here, and as a species listed Vulnerable nationally they are not one to target. The trout water is above the reservoir. Check the current ACT fishing brochure for which native species must be released.

Access and safety

Use the formed tracks and obey signs. As on any river below a dam, the level can change when the release does, so keep an eye on the water and do not wade where you could not get back out.

Regulations

The Cotter River below Cotter Dam is Open Water under the ACT's recreational fishing rules. In open water you may use no more than two rods or handlines combined at any one time and a landing net; each rod may carry no more than two hooks, two artificial flies or one artificial lure; you must be within ten metres of your gear and able to see it at all times; and it is prohibited to possess more than four rods or handlines combined, or more than two rigged for bait, in or beside the water. For seasons, licensing, and size and bag limits, check the current ACT recreational fishing brochure before you fish.

What the record shows

Flows, river gradient, changing water levels, fish surveys and stocking

What the record shows

More river data The fall of the whole Cotter River, its bank survey and its wider record, with this stretch marked

The fall of the river

Elevation along the river, source to end

Falls 1287 m over 84 km, gravel bed, floodplain pockets for much of its length.

469 1,112 1,755 Corin Dam, 24.5 to 31.1 km, about 953 m Corin Dam Bendora Dam, 46.6 to 51.5 km, about 792 m Bendora Dam Cotter Dam, 79.6 to 83.1 km, about 496 m Cotter Dam this stretch gauge 410730 gauge 410752 gauge 410747 gauge 410725 gauge 410700 0 km from the source: 1755 m · falling 48.5 m per km · sand, valley fill 1 km from the source: 1654 m · falling 64.9 m per km · bedrock, headwater 2 km from the source: 1556 m · falling 72.8 m per km · variable 3 km from the source: 1467 m · falling 83.3 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 4 km from the source: 1358 m · falling 89.6 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 5 km from the source: 1267 m · falling 78.8 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 6 km from the source: 1172 m · falling 64.5 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 7 km from the source: 1112 m · falling 47.9 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 8 km from the source: 1091 m · falling 32 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 9 km from the source: 1084 m · falling 20.7 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 10 km from the source: 1072 m · falling 13.3 m per km · sand, discontinuous floodplain 11 km from the source: 1060 m · falling 9.9 m per km · gravel, floodplain 12 km from the source: 1052 m · falling 9 m per km · gravel, floodplain 13 km from the source: 1043 m · falling 8.5 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 14 km from the source: 1039 m · falling 8 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 15 km from the source: 1026 m · falling 7.7 m per km · gravel 16 km from the source: 1019 m · falling 7.2 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 17 km from the source: 1014 m · falling 7 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 18 km from the source: 1006 m · falling 6.8 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 19 km from the source: 1001 m · falling 6.6 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 20 km from the source: 994 m · falling 6.9 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 21 km from the source: 986 m · falling 6.9 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 22 km from the source: 981 m · falling 6.5 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 23 km from the source: 972 m · falling 5.9 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 24 km from the source: 963 m · falling 4.5 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 25 km from the source: 961 m · falling 3 m per km · water storage 26 km from the source: 961 m · falling 1.7 m per km · water storage 27 km from the source: 961 m · falling 3.4 m per km · water storage 28 km from the source: 961 m · falling 5.7 m per km · water storage 29 km from the source: 961 m · falling 9.2 m per km · water storage 30 km from the source: 961 m · falling 13.1 m per km · water storage 31 km from the source: 906 m · falling 14.6 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 32 km from the source: 902 m · falling 13.4 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 33 km from the source: 890 m · falling 11.9 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 34 km from the source: 884 m · falling 10.4 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 35 km from the source: 876 m · falling 8 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 36 km from the source: 872 m · falling 8.3 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 37 km from the source: 861 m · falling 8.3 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 38 km from the source: 844 m · falling 8 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 39 km from the source: 845 m · falling 7.3 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 40 km from the source: 837 m · falling 6.9 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 41 km from the source: 829 m · falling 6.3 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 42 km from the source: 821 m · falling 5.4 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 43 km from the source: 820 m · falling 4.8 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 44 km from the source: 812 m · falling 4.4 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 45 km from the source: 807 m · falling 4.2 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 46 km from the source: 809 m · falling 4.2 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 47 km from the source: 809 m · falling 4.8 m per km · water storage 48 km from the source: 795 m · falling 6.4 m per km · water storage 49 km from the source: 787 m · falling 8.1 m per km · water storage 50 km from the source: 786 m · falling 10.4 m per km · water storage 51 km from the source: 784 m · falling 12.7 m per km · water storage 52 km from the source: 752 m · falling 13.5 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 53 km from the source: 736 m · falling 12.7 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 54 km from the source: 721 m · falling 11 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 55 km from the source: 714 m · falling 9.3 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 56 km from the source: 711 m · falling 7.7 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 57 km from the source: 708 m · falling 7.4 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 58 km from the source: 705 m · falling 8.2 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 59 km from the source: 682 m · falling 8.6 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 60 km from the source: 675 m · falling 8.3 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 61 km from the source: 673 m · falling 8.4 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 62 km from the source: 661 m · falling 8.2 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 63 km from the source: 658 m · falling 7.7 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 64 km from the source: 648 m · falling 8.2 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 65 km from the source: 633 m · falling 8.4 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 66 km from the source: 630 m · falling 7.7 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 67 km from the source: 625 m · falling 7.5 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 68 km from the source: 614 m · falling 7.7 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 69 km from the source: 602 m · falling 7.5 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 70 km from the source: 605 m · falling 7.7 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 71 km from the source: 598 m · falling 8.2 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 72 km from the source: 579 m · falling 8.2 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 73 km from the source: 572 m · falling 8.7 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 74 km from the source: 569 m · falling 10.1 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 75 km from the source: 563 m · falling 11.1 m per km · gravel, occasional floodplain 76 km from the source: 551 m · falling 11.8 m per km · bedrock, gorge 77 km from the source: 525 m · falling 11.4 m per km · water storage 78 km from the source: 512 m · falling 9.8 m per km · water storage 79 km from the source: 506 m · falling 8.5 m per km · water storage 80 km from the source: 503 m · falling 7.3 m per km · water storage 81 km from the source: 506 m · falling 5.9 m per km · water storage 82 km from the source: 497 m · falling 6 m per km · water storage 83 km from the source: 477 m · falling 5.7 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 84 km from the source: 469 m · falling 4.7 m per km · gravel, discontinuous floodplain 0 km 21 km 42 km 63 km 84 km
bedrock · 2% gravel · 74% sand · 2% variable · 1% unstated · 20% lake the river runs through
Headwater
1755 m
Outlet
469 m
Typical drop
15.3 m/km
Steepest sampled stretch
89.6 m/km, near 4 km
The flat shelves are the lakes the river runs through: Corin Dam, Bendora Dam and Cotter Dam. Hover the profile for the reading at any kilometre.
Source: Geoscience Australia.
Source details and licence

Geoscience Australia — 1 second SRTM-derived DEM-H v1.0 (NCI tile store). Geoscience Australia, 1 second SRTM-derived DEM-H v1.0, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. retrieved 2026-08-16.

Bed material: NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (Water, Surface Water Science).
Source details and licence

NSW River Styles spatial dataset — geomorphic character and dominant bed material. NSW River Styles spatial dataset, © State Government of NSW and NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water 2023. retrieved 2026-08-21.

Gauge pins identify the monitoring stations. The slope shows how steeply the river falls; it does not show rapids or safe wading routes.

The banks, seen from space

Land cover in the 120 m beside the water, Landsat 2023 to 2024 to 2025

this stretch 0 to 5 km: woody open 92.4% 0 to 5 km: woody sparse 1.3% 0 to 5 km: herbaceous native 6.3% 5 to 10 km: woody open 94.9% 5 to 10 km: woody sparse 1.3% 5 to 10 km: herbaceous native 3.8% 10 to 15 km: woody open 91.2% 10 to 15 km: herbaceous native 7.5% 10 to 15 km: cultivated 1.3% 15 to 20 km: woody open 87.5% 15 to 20 km: woody sparse 0.6% 15 to 20 km: herbaceous native 10.6% 15 to 20 km: cultivated 1.3% 20 to 25 km: woody open 98.7% 20 to 25 km: woody sparse 1.3% 30 to 35 km: woody dense 18.8% 30 to 35 km: woody open 81.2% 35 to 40 km: woody dense 16.9% 35 to 40 km: woody open 83.1% 40 to 45 km: woody dense 38.1% 40 to 45 km: woody open 61.9% 50 to 55 km: woody dense 39.2% 50 to 55 km: woody open 60.8% 55 to 60 km: woody dense 30% 55 to 60 km: woody open 70% 60 to 65 km: woody dense 14.4% 60 to 65 km: woody open 85.6% 65 to 70 km: woody dense 13.1% 65 to 70 km: woody open 86.9% 70 to 75 km: woody dense 3.1% 70 to 75 km: woody open 94.3% 70 to 75 km: woody sparse 1.3% 70 to 75 km: herbaceous native 1.3% 75 to 80 km: woody open 54.8% 75 to 80 km: woody sparse 9.7% 75 to 80 km: herbaceous native 35.5% Corin Dam: the river runs through a lake here, so there is no riverbank to read Bendora Dam: the river runs through a lake here, so there is no riverbank to read Cotter Dam: the river runs through a lake here, so there is no riverbank to read Corin Dam Bendora Dam Cotter Dam 0 km 20 km 40 km 60 km 80 km
dense forest open woodland scattered trees and scrub native grass and heath farmed or cleared bare ground lake
Along the river itself about 97% of the bank is under trees, 3% is native grass or heath and 0% is farmed. The most wooded stretch is 20 to 25 km from the source; the most open is 75 to 80 km.
Source: Geoscience Australia / Digital Earth Australia.
Source details and licence

DEA Land Cover (Landsat) — Level 4 classification, continental mosaics. © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia). DEA Land Cover (Landsat), Digital Earth Australia. retrieved 2026-08-19.

How well this water has been surveyed

19 capture records, 2 decades of 2 on file

0 5 10 15 20 2000s: 15 capture records 2000s: 1 capture record 2010s: 1 capture record 2010s: 2 capture records 2000s 2010s
electrofishing (backpack), 16 records electrofishing (other), 2 records trapping, 1 record
Capture records by decade — electrofishing, netting, trapping and rotenone surveys only; a sighting, an eDNA water sample or a stocking release is not a capture and is not counted here. A record is not an abundance estimate, and a decade with no bar is a decade with no capture survey on file, not evidence the water was empty.
Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Source details and licence

Atlas of Living Australia — freshwater fish occurrence records (open licences, with coordinates). Occurrence records from the Atlas of Living Australia and its contributing datasets, including the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, NSW BioNet Atlas, Sustainable Rivers Audit, Murray-Darling Basin fish monitoring programs, OZCAM museum collections and iNaturalist Australia. Each record carries its own licence and originating dataset. retrieved 2026-08-13.

Questions anglers ask

Is this trout water?

No. The Cotter below Cotter Dam is Open Water under the ACT rules, so the open-water gear rules apply and there is no trout-water season here. The trout water is above the reservoir.

Behind this page

Where next

 Water guide Cotter River The whole river, and the trout water upstream.
Water guide Murrumbidgee River The river this stretch runs into, and the ACT's native fishery.
landscape
Water guide Bendora Dam to Condor Creek The trout water, above the closed reservoir stretch.
Fish nearby Adelong Creek A NSW creek that flows into the Murrumbidgee, with brown and rainbow trout and a little Murray cod stocked into it, and carp and goldfish also recorded.