Broken River at Gowangardie Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Broken River at Gowangardie near Shepparton: cod and yellowbelly in the lower Broken, with a Bureau gauge and the cod closure.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.79 m
Air / High
13 °C / 21 °C
Wind
SW 17 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 404224, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Broken River at Gowangardie is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 0.79 m, easing 0.08 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 18 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Water sits around 13 °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.
Murray cod
Slow
Slow it down: heavier spinnerbaits, slow-rolled swimbaits and bait on the bottom next to the deep snags.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Cooler at 18 °C. 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 murray cod here? Check the size and bag limits with VFA before you keep anything; the Murray cod page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Broken River at Gowangardie today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:01), sunset (18:16), 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 404224 (BROKEN @ GOWANGARDIE).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 404224. Latest reading 2026-09-25 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low21 °C / 11 °C
WindSW 17 km/h, gusts 37 km/h
Pressure1029.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain99% cloud, 43%
Sunrise / Sunset06:01 / 18:16
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Broken River at Gowangardie
The best day on Broken River at Gowangardie this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. 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: Sunday, 27 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
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
- 06:01 to 18:16
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 27 km/h
- Rain chance
- 43%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Broken River at Gowangardie: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Murray cod
December to August; closed September to November
Closed now Reopens 1 Dec 2026. Closed 1 September to 30 November inclusive, except in Lake Eildon, Eildon Pondage, Lake Eppalock, Cairn Curran, Lake Nillahcootie and the other waters the VFA lists. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority on 2026-09-23.
The giant of the inland rivers and the big lakes (Hume, Mulwala, Eildon). A snag fish that eats big lures, and a species with a closed season across the Murray-Darling. Slow it down: heavier spinnerbaits, slow-rolled swimbaits and bait on the bottom next to the deep snags.
Golden perch
Best: November to April
Yellowbelly. The bread-and-butter native of the Murray-Darling lakes and rivers; loves warm water, structure and a lure worked slowly past its nose. Slower. Work the deeper timber and the drop-offs with vibes and bait.
When to come: the Broken River at Gowangardie 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
Murray cod
Golden perch
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 13 °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 Broken River at Gowangardie 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. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 26 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 23 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at good. High of 20 °C, wind to 11 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
At Gowangardie the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Broken River at Gowangardie is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Broken River at Gowangardie: the full guide
The Broken at Gowangardie
Gowangardie is a crossing on the lower Broken River east of Shepparton, where the river winds between river red gums across the irrigation plains toward its junction with the Goulburn. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Gowangardie supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Broken at Casey Weir and the Goulburn at Shepparton have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the lower Broken, cod in the snags and the deeper bends, yellowbelly in the warm months on shrimp and worms; redfin and carp are common. The Murray cod closed season, 1 September to 30 November, applies here; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The crossings and the reserves along the lower Broken give bank access, and a kayak covers the snag-lined bends between them.
Planning a visit
Shepparton, to the west, has supplies and tackle. Bring cod gear and bait, and fish the cool of the morning in summer.
The river through the year
The Broken River is regulated by Lake Nillahcootie, upstream of Benalla, and by Casey Weir, which diverts water into Broken Creek, so the lower river at Gowangardie carries what remains after those, plus rain from the ranges south of Benalla. In dry summers it can run low between the red gums and the snags, and the fish concentrate in the deeper bends. Cod feed through summer and autumn, and yellowbelly are most active in the warmest months on rising water. Below Gowangardie the Broken joins the Goulburn at Shepparton, and the red gum country along both rivers is where most of the fishing happens.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the lower Broken’s regulated flow. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Gowangardie.
Licence, access and rules
At Gowangardie the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The VFA limits and the cod closure are in the sources.
Common questions
Is Murray cod closed here in spring?
Yes, from 1 September to 30 November.
What can I catch at Gowangardie?
Murray cod and golden perch.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Broken River at Gowangardie 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 404224 — BROKEN @ GOWANGARDIE
- 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.