Imagery © Esri
Billabong Creek is a creek that runs into the Edward River, and the reason to fish it is native fish: Murray cod and golden perch are both recorded, so bring a rod that can turn a big fish out of timber.
Start at the access sites on the card, work the deeper bends with a large streamer, and read the NSW fishing guide before you go.
A creek that gives its water to a larger river. In our experience fish on this kind of water sit where there is something to hold them: fallen timber, undercut banks, and the deeper water on the outside of a bend. Open, even reaches hold fewer fish.
The flow chart and the temperature chart show how the creek behaves through the year, so look at them before you plan a trip.
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish worth fishing for, and both have been observed here. Australian smelt, bony bream, Murray River rainbowfish, eastern gambusia, European carp, goldfish and oriental weatherloach are recorded too. Most of those are small, and in our experience the small ones are what cod and golden perch feed on.
That makes the fly box simple. A guide's read: dark or olive streamers in the 10 to 15 cm range, a couple of weighted and a couple unweighted, plus a big hopper or two for summer. Carp will take a fly now and then, so a fish that fights differently from a cod is worth identifying before you handle it.
Cod and golden perch are warm-water fish, so in our experience the fishing is at its best from late spring through summer and into early autumn. The temperature chart shows how the water warms. In the cooler months fish slower and deeper, and expect fewer takes. Take any seasonal closures from the current NSW guide, not from this calendar.
Dawn and dusk are a good bet in hot weather; a cloudy day can extend the window.
Cast a streamer tight to timber or the bank, let it sink, and retrieve it slowly with long, pausing strips. Cod often follow a fly a long way before they eat, so keep the fly moving to the rod tip and stay ready. Use a strong leader (15 lb or heavier) and strike by pulling the line firmly, not by lifting the rod, so the hook sets in a big jaw.
On a warm evening, try a large hopper or other surface fly along a grassy bank. Fish the near bank first, then the far one.
The access card lists the access sites. Treat them as locations, not a statement of permission, and respect any fence or sign you meet on the ground.
As on any bush stream, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, carry water and a small first-aid kit, and watch your footing on soft, undercut banks. Do not wade a crossing you are unsure of, and keep well clear of fallen timber that could shift.
No water-specific rule was found for Billabong Creek. Before you fish, read the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development fishing guide, check its closed-waters information, and take any season, bag and size limits and licence requirements from it.
These authority-listed points are separate from the mapped track intersections above. Some were inspected and some are public boat-ramp records; each row says which. A listing does not grant permission across private land, so check closures, signs and gates when you arrive.
Showing the first 60 of 105 sites on this long river. Use the authority sources below for the complete lists.
Sources: NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
The year on this water
A year at a glance; check current rules
The river's year
Daily flow at Billabong Creek at Wanganella, every year 1999 to 2026
Bureau of Meteorology — Water Data Online series catalogue (Snowy/Monaro stations). Bureau of Meteorology, © Commonwealth of Australia. Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. retrieved 2026-08-12.
How often it runs this high
9,705 days at Billabong Creek at Wanganella, 1999 to 2026
Bureau of Meteorology — Water Data Online series catalogue (Snowy/Monaro stations). Bureau of Meteorology, © Commonwealth of Australia. Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. retrieved 2026-08-12.
How well this water has been surveyed
14 capture records, 2 decades of 2 on file
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.
Billabong Creek at Cocketgedong
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at Jerilderie
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at Conargo (Puckawidgee)
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at Walbundrie
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at Darlot
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
NTU
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at downstream Hartwood Weir
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at upstream Innes Bridge
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at Hillview
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at Parkside
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Nowranie Creek at downstream Offtake Billabong Creek
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek downstream Ten Mile & Mountain Creeks
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Billabong Creek at Wanganella
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
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No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
°C
No reading shown: No reading has been captured for this gauge yet, so none is shown.
Readings from the Bureau of Meteorology's Water Data Online, © Commonwealth of Australia, licensed CC BY 4.0. Nothing here is a forecast. Check the gauge before you rely on it.
Live weather for Billabong Creek at Walbundrie loads here. If it does not, check the Bureau of Meteorology forecast before you go.
Murray cod and golden perch are both recorded, and they are the fish to plan for. European carp, goldfish and a few small native and introduced fish live there too, so not every take is a native.
Pick a spot from the access card, walk to the water and fish the deeper bends and any timber first. Treat those points as locations only, and read the signs and fences on the ground.
Check the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development fishing guide, including its closed-waters information, and take any season, bag and size limits from it before you fish.
A 7 to 9 weight is a sensible starting point for cod-sized flies and casting near timber. That is a guide's read for the water, not a rule.
