With the prospect of catching a feed of fish including Coorong mullet, bream, salmon trout or even a big mulloway, a day of bobbing around fishing in a boat at the Murray Mouth is always a tempting proposition.

At worst, it’s a day out in a peaceful location watching wildlife, birdlife and other water craft in this beautiful environment where the River Murray meets the Southern Ocean.

There are a couple of places to launch a boat to reach the area, one next to the Goolwa Aquatic Club on the river side of the Goolwa barrages, and the other at Beacon 19 on the sea side of the barrages. The Beacon 19 boat ramp has recently had an upgrade and now has jetties and a new pontoon structure for boat launching.

Launching a boat at the pontoons next to the Aquatic Club on Barrage Road is our preferred option with a large public carpark to leave the car and trailer and there are new public amenities nearby.

Leaving from this boat ramp means travelling through the barrages to get to the Coorong and Murray Mouth but it only takes a phone call to the lock operator as you near the barrage for them to open the lock which you enter on being given the green light.

Once inside the lock you grab one of the ropes extending down the lock walls and once the lock gate has closed the water level is adjusted then you exit through the next gate and are on your way. The Goolwa Barrage reduces the salinity levels in the lower reaches of the Murray River and manages the river level in the region.

When there isn’t enough water coming down the river the barrages reduce or completely stop the flow of water out to sea, and when flows are high, water is allowed to flow into the Coorong.

The Goolwa barrage is open from 8.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4.30pm every day, so you have to be mindful of these times if travelling through. Then benefit of launching on the river side and travelling through is that your boat and motor get a rinse with fresh water as you return to the boat ramp.

Once on the Coorong side of the barrages there are a number places to fish, from just near where the water flows in from the barrage, to spots outside of the channel markers on the way to the mouth, at the Murray Mouth itself where you can see and feel the strong tidal movement, and through to areas within the Coorong National Park. A sounder will show the varying depths along the way which in places is quite shallow and in other spots there are huge drop offs.

All legal fish size and boat limit details are available from the PIRSA (Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA) website and apps which you should refer to, but Mulloway is one species that can be kept if between 46 -82cm in the Coorong, where in all other waters they have to be over 82cm.

Every time we’ve fished the Murray Mouth and Coorong area we’ve returned with a mix of salmon trout and mullet, and on our last outing, we caught bream and mulloway. The latter had to be returned as they were too small but catching a few between us was incentive enough to return and try another time.

As always, the amount of birdlife is astounding and there are huge flocks of pelicans to watch as well as terns, black swans and ibis to name just a few.

If you’re visiting the Fleurieu Peninsula region and don’t have your own boat, I’d highly recommend taking a tour with Coorong Cruises which give a terrific introduction to the area, its history, the birdlife and wildlife of the area, and its environmental importance.

The cruises depart the Goolwa Wharf, travel through the lock and then on to where the river meets the sea at the Murray Mouth.

The cruises operate on certain days, and tours ranging from half day to full day tours can be taken, where you can also experience guided walks through the dunes, see indigenous middens sites, and follow trails to 90 mile beach and the Southern Ocean. Visit their website at https://www.spiritofthecoorong.com.au/ for all the details.

Cheers and happy fishing,

Glenys