Rainbow trout
Slow
Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Big River at Jokers Creek Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Big River in the forest above Lake Eildon: trout in a clear mountain river, with a Bureau gauge near Jokers Creek.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.20 m
Air / High
10 °C / 21 °C
Wind
SSE 11 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 401216, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Big River at Jokers Creek has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 1.20 m, easing 0.08 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 11 km/h, steady pressure near 1030 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Water sits around 8 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Slow
The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
Tie on: Bait on the bottom, running sinker · Heavy blade, deep · Slow-rolled swimbait · Live bait, deepest hole. Prime windows: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Cooler at 12 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Victoria requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$10.00. Victoria fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with VFA before you keep anything; the Rainbow trout page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Big River at Jokers Creek today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:54), sunset (18:09), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 401216 (BIG R @ JOKERS CREEK).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 401216. Latest reading 2026-09-25 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp10 °C
High / Low21 °C / 7 °C
WindSSE 11 km/h, gusts 32 km/h
Pressure1029.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:54 / 18:09
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Big River at Jokers Creek
Today is the pick of the week on Big River at Jokers Creek, at 3 out of 5. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: today, 26 Sept — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:54 to 18:09
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Big River at Jokers Creek: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from August
Open now Closes 15 June 2027. Rivers and streams close from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September. Lakes and reservoirs stay open all year. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority on 2026-09-23.
The stocked lakes of the Snowy Mountains, the Victorian highlands and the Tasmanian central plateau. Closed seasons apply on the rivers: check the state rules. Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Brown trout
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from August
Open now Closes 15 June 2027. Rivers and streams close from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September. Lakes and reservoirs stay open all year. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority on 2026-09-23.
The wild trout of the highland rivers and Tasmania's lakes. Spawns in autumn, hence the closed rivers through winter in NSW and Victoria. The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
When to come: the Big River at Jokers Creek calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 8 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Big River at Jokers Creek today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 25 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 23 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 19 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), from A$10.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by VFA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Victoria licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required on the Big River unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Big River at Jokers Creek is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Big River at Jokers Creek: the full guide
The Big River at Jokers Creek
The Big River flows north from the high country through the Big River State Forest into the upper arms of Lake Eildon, a clear river of stony runs and forest-lined pools; Jokers Creek is a gauging site in the forest above the lake, reached on the forest roads from Eildon and Jamieson. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge near Jokers Creek supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Eildon and the Jamieson River have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are the fish of the Big River, in the runs and the pools on the fly, lures and bait. Victoria’s river trout closure, the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The forest camping areas along the Big River give access to long reaches of the river, and anglers walk and wade between them. The forest roads are unsealed and some close in winter. The pools below the forest camps and the runs between them are the trout water, and a light rod with small spinners or flies covers the clear water; the river gets smaller and colder as you go upstream.
Planning a visit
The Big River is reached on forest roads from Eildon or from Jamieson, both of which have supplies, and the forest camping areas along the river are popular in summer. Bring trout gear, a four-wheel drive if the roads are wet, and allow for the winter trout closure on Victorian rivers.
Reading this report here
Rain and snowmelt lift the Big River, which the chart shows; the river clears quickly after a fresh. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cold for much of the season; pressure and sky build the score on the Big River.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required on the Big River unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The forest camping areas are under the forest rules, and the VFA limits and the trout closure are in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Big River closed for trout?
From the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September.
Where is the Big River?
In the forest south of Lake Eildon, flowing north into the lake’s upper arms.
Do I need a licence on the Big River?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Big River at Jokers Creek right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 401216 — BIG R @ JOKERS CREEK
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.