Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Lake Dartmouth Fishing Report
Updated Tue, 10 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
Victoria’s largest-capacity storage in the Mitta Mitta valley: wild brown and rainbow trout, Macquarie perch that must all be released, and boat-access camps up the arms.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
472.89 m3,053,837 ML
Air / High
9 °C / 23 °C
Wind
ESE 5 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge sp-o10298, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Dartmouth has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 472.89 m, up 0.10 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 5 km/h, falling pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 23 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 12:05 AM-2:05 AM and 12:33 PM-2:33 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Excellent
Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 12:05 AM-2:05 AM, 12:33 PM-2:33 PM, 5:32 AM-6:32 AM. Warmer at 27 °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 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 Lake Dartmouth today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:56), sunset (19:51), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 12:05 AM-2:05 AM and 12:33 PM-2:33 PM; minor 5:32 AM-6:32 AM. New Moon, 1% lit.
Dartmouth Dam Level today, and the weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station sp-o10298 (DARTMOUTH).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station sp-o10298. Latest reading 2026-11-08 13:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp9 °C
High / Low23 °C / 8 °C
WindESE 5 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure1017.9 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 25%
Sunrise / Sunset05:56 / 19:51
MoonNew Moon, 1%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Dartmouth
Today is the pick of the week on Lake Dartmouth, at 4 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 10 Nov — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 12:05 AM-2:05 AM and 12:33 PM-2:33 PM
- Minor period
- 5:32 AM-6:32 AM
- Sun
- 05:56 to 19:51
- Moon
- New Moon, 1% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 25%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Dartmouth: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open all year No closed season in lakes and reservoirs; the winter closure applies to rivers and streams. 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. Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Brown trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open all year No closed season in lakes and reservoirs; the winter closure applies to rivers and streams. 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. Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
When to come: the Lake Dartmouth 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 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 Lake Dartmouth today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataMon, Nov 9
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 21 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Sun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 18 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
A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the 2026/27 fees.
Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on Victoria dam levels today.
About this water
Lake Dartmouth is a lake in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Dartmouth: the full guide
The lake
Lake Dartmouth is held by Dartmouth Dam, below the junction of the Mitta Mitta and Dart rivers about 24 kilometres east of the township of Mitta Mitta. Goulburn-Murray Water operates it for the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and describes it as the largest-capacity dam in Victoria and the highest structure of its kind in Australia, 180 metres high, holding almost four million megalitres when full. The VFA’s angling guide describes a deep, steep-sided lake reaching about 40 kilometres up the Mitta Mitta from the wall, surrounded by forested mountains. The level and volume on this page come from the Dartmouth storage series that GMW supplies to the Bureau of Meteorology; the older dam-wall station, 401224A, stopped reporting in March 2017.
Species and seasons
Trout are the fishery. The VFA’s surveys found brown trout made up most of the catch, ahead of rainbows, and most were taken by trolling; the tributaries above the lake hold self-sustaining trout. Lakes in Victoria have no closed season for trout, with a daily limit of five. Macquarie perch live in the lake but, as GMW and the VFA both state, taking them has been prohibited in every Victorian water since 20 December 2023; any caught by accident must be released straight away. The Mitta Mitta above the lake has a 25 cm minimum and a bag of three in the stream season.
Where to fish it
The main access is by road through Dartmouth village to the wall area and the boat ramp, and the VFA notes bank fishing near the ramp. Most anglers troll the steep banks, points and creek mouths with small minnows or lures behind a downrigger or lead-core line when the trout go deep in summer, and fish the edges at dawn and dusk in the cooler months. GMW says camping is allowed in designated areas: Eustace Creek can be reached by a track from Sassafras Gap, four-wheel drive recommended in the wet, and two other campgrounds are boat-access only.
Reading the report
The weather rows matter here more than usual because the lake is large and exposed in its lower basin; a strong wind funnelled down the valley can make the run to the arms uncomfortable. The water temperature row is an estimate that stays cool for much of the year in mountain water, which suits trout. The storage chart shows how far the lake has drawn down over the last 30 days, so check it, and GMW’s own storage page, before assuming a ramp is usable.
Licence, access and rules
A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the 2026/27 fees. GMW allows motor boats but not water skiing or houseboats, and boats must keep at least 700 metres from the dam wall. Below the dam, the Mitta Mitta tailrace to Peters Bridge is closed to all hook and line fishing during the trout closed season.
Common questions
Where does the Lake Dartmouth level on this page come from?
From the Dartmouth storage series that Goulburn-Murray Water supplies to the Bureau of Meteorology’s Water Data Online. The older dam-wall station, 401224A, has not reported since March 2017, so the page no longer uses it.
Can I keep Macquarie perch at Dartmouth?
No. The VFA prohibits the take of Macquarie perch in all Victorian waters from 20 December 2023, including Lake Dartmouth; release any you catch.
Can I camp at Lake Dartmouth?
Yes, in GMW’s designated areas: Eustace Creek by track from Sassafras Gap and two other campgrounds reached only by boat.
Is fishing good at Lake Dartmouth right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station sp-o10298 — DARTMOUTH
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- 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.