Goulburn River at Shepparton Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Goulburn through Shepparton: cod and golden perch in the lower river below the weir, with Victoria Park Lake, the river parks and the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~13 °C est.
Air / High
18 °C / 28 °C
Wind
S 7 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 405271, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Goulburn River at Shepparton is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings a mixed sky, wind S around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 28 °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 21 °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 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 Shepparton today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:04), sunset (18:17), 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 405271 (GOULBURN @ SHEPP).
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Bureau of Meteorology station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low28 °C / 16 °C
WindS 7 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1023.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain39% cloud, 33%
Sunrise / Sunset06:04 / 18:17
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Goulburn River at Shepparton
The best day on Goulburn River at Shepparton 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
- 06:04 to 18:17
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 33%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Goulburn River at Shepparton: 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 Goulburn River at Shepparton 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 Goulburn River at Shepparton 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 24 °C, wind to 13 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 21 °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. Golden perch led the card at good. High of 18 °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 unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Goulburn River at Shepparton is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Goulburn River at Shepparton: the full guide
The reach
The Goulburn at Shepparton is the lower river below the Goulburn Weir, running through the Goulburn Valley’s biggest town past Victoria Park Lake, the river parks and the Broken River junction toward Mooroopna and the Murray at Echuca, slow, timbered and warm. It is cod and perch water in a town, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Shepparton supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Murray cod fish the snags and the deep bends through summer and autumn on lures and bait, with the VFA bag of one in the river and the closure from 1 September to 30 November computed on the species card; golden perch are the everyday fish from spring to autumn; silver perch are protected; and carp are numerous under the VFA rules. The Broken River junction brings fish on when that river runs.
Where to fish it
The river parks and the Broken junction give bank access at the town, Victoria Park Lake is a stocked town water for perch and cod, and the ramps put a boat onto the reaches downstream toward Mooroopna and upstream toward the weir; the deep outside bends and the timber are the cod water. Night fishing with surface lures along the snags is the summer method.
Reading the report
The chart follows the weir releases and the Broken’s flow, and a rise after rain colours the river and brings the perch on; a low summer river fishes at dawn and dusk. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the cod band from November to April; the flat country lets the wind cross the river; pressure counts before a summer storm.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The parks, the lake and the ramps are public; the VFA limits, the river bag and the closure are in the sources.
The Broken and the lakes
The Broken River joins the Goulburn on the northern edge of Shepparton and the junction is the town’s classic cod spot after rain; Victoria Park Lake beside the river and the Kialla lakes to the south are stocked town waters for perch that suit a family evening when the river is high and dirty.
Common questions
Can I fish Victoria Park Lake?
Yes; it is a stocked town water for golden perch and cod, with the river parks beside it.
When is cod season at Shepparton?
Open 1 December to 31 August; closed 1 September to 30 November under the Victorian rule, computed on the species card.
Is fishing good at Goulburn River at Shepparton 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
- 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.