Rainbow trout
Slow
Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Lal Lal Reservoir Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Moorabool River reservoir south of Ballarat: a stocked trout and redfin lake near the falls, opened to shore fishing, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
406.13 m39,252 ML
Air / High
12 °C / 21 °C
Wind
E 9 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 232222A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lal Lal Reservoir is in its winter rhythm: deep, slow and around the middle of the day. The gauge reads 406.13 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind E around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Water sits around 8 °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.
Brown trout
Slow
The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
Tie on: Bait on the bottom, running sinker · Heavy blade, deep · Slow-rolled swimbait · Live bait, deepest hole. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 12 °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 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 Lal Lal Reservoir today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:09), sunset (18:22), 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 232222A (LAL LAL RES. H.G.).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 232222A. Latest reading 2026-09-24 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low21 °C / 12 °C
WindE 9 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1026.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 47%
Sunrise / Sunset06:09 / 18:22
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lal Lal Reservoir
The best day on Lal Lal Reservoir 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
- 06:09 to 18:22
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 47%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lal Lal Reservoir: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from 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. Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Brown trout
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from 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. The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
When to come: the Lal Lal Reservoir 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 8 °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 Lal Lal Reservoir 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. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 21 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at fair. High of 17 °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. Rainbow trout led the card at fair. High of 11 °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
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; fees on our Victoria page.
About this water
Lal Lal Reservoir is a lake in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lal Lal Reservoir: the full guide
The lake
Lal Lal Reservoir is a Central Highlands Water storage on the West Moorabool River south of Ballarat near Lal Lal Falls, a lake in open farmland and pine plantation that supplies Ballarat and Geelong and that the authority opened to shore fishing in designated areas, with a picnic ground and access near the wall. It is cool tableland water, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the reservoir supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are stocked and fish the edges and the drop-offs from autumn to spring on bait, lures and flies; redfin are the numbers fish through the year; golden perch have been stocked and show in the warm months; and carp are present under the VFA rules. There is no trout closure on the reservoir, and the Moorabool below the dam follows the stream closure computed on its rule.
Where to fish it
The designated shore fishing areas near the picnic ground and along the eastern shore are the access, with no boats and no wading; the drop-off near the wall holds the fish in summer and the grassy edges fish for trout at first light in the cool months. The authority posts the boundaries at the gate.
Reading the report
Cool and windy, the tableland keeps the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, in the trout bands from autumn to spring; the chart shows the supply draw-down. A westerly crosses the open water and the wind row is a comfort question for a bank angler; pressure and sky fill the score.
Licence, access and rules
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; fees on our Victoria page. Shore fishing only in the designated areas under the water authority’s rules; the VFA trout rules are in the sources.
Lal Lal Falls and the river
Lal Lal Falls, a short walk from the reservoir, drops the Moorabool into a gorge that runs on to Meredith and Geelong’s Moorabool storages, and the river between is a trout stream under the Victorian stream closure, open from the first Saturday of September to the King’s Birthday weekend; the reservoir gives the winter fishing when the river is closed and the river gives the spring fishing when the reservoir is drawing down.
Common questions
Can I fish Lal Lal Reservoir?
Yes, from the shore in the designated areas near the picnic ground, under Central Highlands Water’s rules; no boats or wading.
What can I catch at Lal Lal?
Stocked trout in the cool months and redfin through the year, with some golden perch in summer.
Is fishing good at Lal Lal Reservoir 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 232222A — LAL LAL RES. H.G.
- 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.