Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Goulburn River at Eildon Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Goulburn below the Eildon Pondage: a cold, regulated trout tailrace where all hook and line fishing stops in the closed season, with the Bureau’s gauge at Eildon.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.36 m
Air / High
14 °C / 21 °C
Wind
W 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 405203, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Goulburn River at Eildon is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 1.36 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 3 km/h, steady pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:23 PM-1:23 AM and 11:51 AM-1:51 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: 11:23 PM-1:23 AM, 11:51 AM-1:51 PM, 5:03 AM-6:03 AM. Warmer at 24 °C with a rain chance. 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 Goulburn River at Eildon today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:02), sunset (19:58), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:23 PM-1:23 AM and 11:51 AM-1:51 PM; minor 5:03 AM-6:03 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 405203 (GOULBURN @ EILDON).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 405203. Latest reading 2026-11-07 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low21 °C / 7 °C
WindW 4 km/h, gusts 16 km/h
Pressure1017.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain16% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:02 / 19:58
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Goulburn River at Eildon
The best day on Goulburn River at Eildon this week looks like Friday 13 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Friday, 13 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:23 PM-1:23 AM and 11:51 AM-1:51 PM
- Minor period
- 5:03 AM-6:03 AM
- Sun
- 06:02 to 19:58
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Goulburn River at Eildon: 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 now Closes 15 June 2027. During the trout and salmon closed season these tailrace waters are closed to all hook-and-line fishing, whatever the species: no fish may be taken or possessed and no hook and line carried in, on or within 20 m of the water. The Goulburn below Eildon Pondage to Trawool Bridge and its tributaries, the Kiewa below Rocky Valley Dam to Keegans Bridge and its tributaries, and the Mitta Mitta below Dartmouth Pondage to Peters Bridge. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority on 2026-09-27.
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 now Closes 15 June 2027. During the trout and salmon closed season these tailrace waters are closed to all hook-and-line fishing, whatever the species: no fish may be taken or possessed and no hook and line carried in, on or within 20 m of the water. The Goulburn below Eildon Pondage to Trawool Bridge and its tributaries, the Kiewa below Rocky Valley Dam to Keegans Bridge and its tributaries, and the Mitta Mitta below Dartmouth Pondage to Peters Bridge. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority on 2026-09-27.
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 Goulburn River at Eildon 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 Goulburn River at Eildon today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, 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 19 °C, wind to 18 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 14 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 22 °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
You need a Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence unless an exemption applies; our Victoria licence page lists the fees.
About this water
Goulburn River at Eildon is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Goulburn River at Eildon: the full guide
The reach
The Goulburn at Eildon is the river below the Eildon Pondage, turned cold by releases from the dam and running on past Thornton, Molesworth and the Alexandra district toward Trawool over gravel runs, deep pools and willows. The Victorian Fisheries Authority classes the river from the pondage to Trawool Bridge, together with its tributaries, as a tailrace with its own rules. The VFA’s Snobs Creek hatchery is nearby. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Eildon, station 405203, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are the fish, taken in the runs and pools on bait, spinners and the fly; the VFA’s stocking record lists brown trout released into the Goulburn between Eildon and Molesworth. In the tailrace the trout rules are no minimum size and five salmonids a day, no more than two over 35 cm. In the closed season, from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday of September and computed on the species card, all hook and line fishing is banned, whatever the target species.
Where to fish it
Road crossings and public reserves give bank access along the upper tailrace, and drift boats and rafts are a common way to cover the runs when the release is up; wading becomes possible when it drops. Concentrate on the heads of pools, the seams beside faster water and the edges of weed beds. The Eildon Pondage above the tailrace is a different water: the VFA lists it, like Lake Eildon, among the waters exempt from the Murray cod closed season.
Reading the report
The chart here is mostly the dam release. In the summer irrigation season the river can run high, cold and unsafe to wade, and the fishing becomes a matter for boats; when releases fall in autumn and spring the gravel shows and wading and fly fishing come back. Check the chart before the drive. The modelled water temperature, labelled as an estimate, reads cold because of the dam and the page says so.
Licence, access and rules
You need a Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence unless an exemption applies; our Victoria licence page lists the fees. During the closed season the VFA makes it an offence to have a hook and line in, on or within 20 metres of the tailrace between the pondage and Trawool Bridge. The tailrace regulations and map are linked from this page.
Common questions
When is the Goulburn tailrace open?
From the first Saturday of September to the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend in June, computed on the species card; in the closed season the VFA bans all hook and line fishing from the pondage to Trawool Bridge.
What are the trout limits on the Goulburn tailrace?
No minimum size and a bag of five salmonids a day, no more than two over 35 cm, under the VFA tailrace rules.
Is fishing good at Goulburn River at Eildon 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 405203 — GOULBURN @ EILDON
- 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.