Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Goulburn River at Murchison Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Goulburn at Murchison between Nagambie and Shepparton: Murray cod and golden perch in the red gum river, with a Bureau gauge and the cod closure.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.63 m
Air / High
12 °C / 21 °C
Wind
ESE 9 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 405200, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Goulburn River at Murchison is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. The gauge reads 1.63 m, up 0.70 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 8 km/h, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:54 AM-1:54 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Murray cod
Closed today
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.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 11:26 PM-1:26 AM, 11:54 AM-1:54 PM, 5:08 AM-6:08 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 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 Goulburn River at Murchison today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:06), sunset (19:59), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:54 AM-1:54 PM; minor 5:08 AM-6:08 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 405200 (GOULBURN @ MURCHISON).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 405200. Latest reading 2026-11-07 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low21 °C / 6 °C
WindESE 9 km/h, gusts 14 km/h
Pressure1016.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:06 / 19:59
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Goulburn River at Murchison
The best day on Goulburn River at Murchison this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:54 AM-1:54 PM
- Minor period
- 5:08 AM-6:08 AM
- Sun
- 06:06 to 19:59
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 8 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Goulburn River at Murchison: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Murray cod
Closed 1 September to 30 November in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, and 1 August to 31 October in Queensland; check the exempt lakes
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.
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. Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
When to come: the Goulburn River at Murchison 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 19 °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 Murchison today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Golden perch 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. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 16 °C, wind to 32 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 14 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 is required at Murchison unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Goulburn River at Murchison is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Goulburn River at Murchison: the full guide
The Goulburn at Murchison
Murchison is the small town on the Goulburn River between Lake Nagambie and Shepparton, where the river winds between river red gums past the town’s riverside park and the historic bridge. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Murchison supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Nagambie and the Goulburn at Shepparton and Seymour have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Murray cod and golden perch are the fish of the Goulburn at Murchison, the cod in the red gum snags and the deep bends on lures and bait, the yellowbelly in the warm months; redfin and carp are common. The Goulburn here is not on the VFA’s exempt list, so the Murray cod closed season, 1 September to 30 November, applies, with one cod a day in the river between 55 and 75 cm; the species card computes it. Murchison is downstream of the Goulburn tailrace that ends at Trawool Bridge, so the tailrace’s winter hook-and-line ban does not reach it.
Where to fish it
The riverside park at Murchison and the reserves along the river give bank access, and a kayak or a small boat covers the reaches through the red gum forest. The snag piles on the outside bends below the town bridge hold the cod, and the slower inside bends are where the yellowbelly feed in summer; spinnerbaits and bait fished close to the timber both work.
Planning a visit
Murchison is off the Goulburn Valley Highway between Nagambie and Shepparton, with a caravan park, supplies and the riverside park. Bring cod lures and bait for yellowbelly, and a kayak for the red gum reaches; cod are closed in spring.
Reading this report here
The Goulburn’s flow is managed from Lake Eildon and Goulburn Weir, and the chart shows irrigation releases and environmental flows. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Murchison.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required at Murchison unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The VFA cod and golden perch pages and the tailrace rules are in the sources.
Common questions
Is Murray cod closed on the Goulburn at Murchison in spring?
Yes. Cod are closed on the Goulburn at Murchison from 1 September to 30 November.
What can I catch at Murchison?
Murray cod and golden perch, with redfin and carp also common in this reach.
Do I need a licence at Murchison?
Yes, unless you are exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is needed at Murchison.
Is fishing good at Goulburn River at Murchison 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 405200 — GOULBURN @ MURCHISON
- 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.