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.
Buffalo River at Abbeyard Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The upper Buffalo River at Abbeyard under Mount Buffalo: trout in a clear alpine valley, with a Bureau gauge and the river trout closure.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.83 m
Air / High
15 °C / 27 °C
Wind
ESE 2 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 403222, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Buffalo River at Abbeyard has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 0.83 m, easing 0.08 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ESE around 2 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Water sits around 8 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: 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: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 23 °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 Buffalo River at Abbeyard today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:58), sunset (18:11), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 403222 (BUFFALO @ ABBEYARD).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 403222. Latest reading 2026-09-24 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low27 °C / 11 °C
WindESE 2 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1024.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain48% cloud, 74%
Sunrise / Sunset05:58 / 18:11
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Buffalo River at Abbeyard
The best day on Buffalo River at Abbeyard 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, 25 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:58 to 18:11
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 74%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Buffalo River at Abbeyard: 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 Buffalo River at Abbeyard 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 Buffalo River at Abbeyard today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, 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 25 °C, wind to 11 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 22 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at fair. High of 17 °C, wind to 19 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
Anglers on the upper Buffalo need the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Buffalo River at Abbeyard is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Buffalo River at Abbeyard: the full guide
The Buffalo at Abbeyard
Abbeyard is the remote upper valley of the Buffalo River south of Lake Buffalo, under the granite of Mount Buffalo and the Alpine National Park, where the river runs clear over stones between forest and small flats, reached by the gravel road up the valley. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Abbeyard supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Buffalo and the Ovens at Myrtleford have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are the fish of the upper Buffalo, in the runs and the pocket water on the fly, small 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 camping areas and the road crossings in the upper valley give access to the Buffalo, and the river is walked and fished upstream from them. It is remote country with little phone coverage. The pocket water and the pools between the camping areas are the trout water, and a light fly rod or a small spinner covers the clear, fast river; the fish are wary and a careful approach matters.
Planning a visit
Abbeyard is reached by the gravel road up the Buffalo valley from Lake Buffalo and Myrtleford, where the supplies are. Bring trout gear, food and fuel for a remote day, and allow for the alpine weather, which changes quickly in the valley.
Reading this report here
Rain and snowmelt in the Alps lift the Buffalo, which the chart shows; a high, coloured river is hard to fish and a dropping, clearing river is the time. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cold for much of the season; pressure and sky build the score at Abbeyard.
Licence, access and rules
Anglers on the upper Buffalo need the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The camping areas are under Parks Victoria’s rules, and the VFA limits and the river trout closure are in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Buffalo River closed for trout?
From the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September.
How do I get to Abbeyard?
By the gravel road up the Buffalo valley south of Lake Buffalo.
Do I need a licence at Abbeyard?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Buffalo River at Abbeyard 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 403222 — BUFFALO @ ABBEYARD
- 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.