Campaspe River at Barnadown Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Campaspe at Barnadown below Lake Eppalock: cod and yellowbelly in the red gum river toward Rochester, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.85 m
Air / High
16 °C / 26 °C
Wind
S 8 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 406201, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Campaspe River at Barnadown has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 1.85 m, easing 0.08 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind S around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Water sits around 13 °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.
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: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 22 °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 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 Campaspe River at Barnadown today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:07), sunset (18:20), 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 406201 (CAMPASPE @ BARNADOWN).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 406201. Latest reading 2026-09-24 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low26 °C / 14 °C
WindS 8 km/h, gusts 13 km/h
Pressure1024.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain48% cloud, 29%
Sunrise / Sunset06:07 / 18:20
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Campaspe River at Barnadown
The best day on Campaspe River at Barnadown 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
- 06:07 to 18:20
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 29%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Campaspe River at Barnadown: 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 Campaspe River at Barnadown 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 Campaspe River at Barnadown 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. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 23 °C, wind to 11 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 10 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
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 17 °C, wind to 16 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 applies at Barnadown unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Campaspe River at Barnadown is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Campaspe River at Barnadown: the full guide
The Campaspe at Barnadown
Barnadown is a crossing on the Campaspe River below Lake Eppalock, north-east of Bendigo, where the river winds between river red gums through farmland toward Elmore and Rochester. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Barnadown supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Eppalock and the Campaspe at Rochester and Redesdale have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the Campaspe at Barnadown, the cod in the snags and the deeper holes, the yellowbelly in the warm months; redfin are common. The river, unlike Lake Eppalock, is not exempt from the Murray cod closed season, 1 September to 30 November; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The crossings and reserves along the river between Barnadown and Elmore give bank access, and a kayak covers the reaches between them.
Planning a visit
Bendigo, to the south-west, has supplies and tackle, and Lake Eppalock is a short drive upstream. Bring cod lures and bait.
The river through the year
Below Lake Eppalock the Campaspe is regulated water, and its level at Barnadown follows the dam’s releases for irrigation and the environmental water delivered for the river’s fish, so the chart often shows steady steps rather than natural rises. In dry years the river runs low between the red gums and the snags, and the fish crowd into the deeper holes. Cod feed through summer and autumn, and golden perch bite best in the warm months on rising water. The Campaspe runs on north past Elmore and Rochester to the Murray at Echuca. In the summer heat the bite is early and late, and the shade of the red gums is welcome.
Reading this report here
The chart shows releases from Eppalock shaping the river. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Barnadown.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies at Barnadown unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The VFA rules are in the sources.
Common questions
Is cod closed in the Campaspe in spring?
Yes, from 1 September to 30 November; the exemption covers Lake Eppalock, not the river.
What can I catch at Barnadown?
Murray cod and golden perch; redfin are common.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Campaspe River at Barnadown 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 406201 — CAMPASPE @ BARNADOWN
- 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.