Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Lauriston Reservoir Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The deepest of Coliban Water’s three storages near Kyneton: stocked brown trout, Murray cod on the VFA’s two-cod lake list, and electric or paddle craft only.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
479.40 m19,590 ML
Air / High
12 °C / 18 °C
Wind
NE 3 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge LAURISTON, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lauriston Reservoir has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 479.40 m, up 0.08 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 3 km/h, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 18 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 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: 11:30 PM-1:30 AM, 11:58 AM-1:58 PM, 5:10 AM-6:10 AM. Warmer at 23 °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 Lauriston Reservoir today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:09), sunset (20:04), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 PM; minor 5:10 AM-6:10 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station LAURISTON (Lauriston Reservoir).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station LAURISTON. Latest reading 2026-11-07 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low18 °C / 5 °C
WindNE 3 km/h, gusts 8 km/h
Pressure1016.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain21% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:09 / 20:04
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lauriston Reservoir
Today is the pick of the week on Lauriston Reservoir, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 PM
- Minor period
- 5:10 AM-6:10 AM
- Sun
- 06:09 to 20:04
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lauriston Reservoir: 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 Lauriston 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 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 Lauriston Reservoir 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 14 °C, wind to 24 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 12 °C, wind to 24 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 19 °C, wind to 21 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 current Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required unless you are exempt; our Victoria page sets out the prices.
Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on Victoria dam levels today.
About this water
Lauriston Reservoir is a lake in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lauriston Reservoir: the full guide
The lake
Lauriston Reservoir is one of Coliban Water’s three main storages near Kyneton, with Upper Coliban and Malmsbury. Coliban Water built it in the 1930s, the third of the three, to supplement Bendigo’s urban supply, and says it is the deepest storage in its system. The VFA angling guide describes deep water surrounded by forest and farmland, with bare margins caused by regular swings in level and limited vehicle access, so reaching much of the shore takes a walk. The storage level and 30-day chart here are read from the Bureau of Meteorology’s Lauriston Reservoir station.
Species and seasons
The VFA database shows brown trout released almost every year, most recently in May 2026, alongside Murray cod and golden perch releases up to February 2026. Redfin and roach are common according to the angling guide. Lauriston is a VFA specified lake where two cod between 55 and 75 cm may be kept; it is not an exempt water, so cod are closed from 1 September to 30 November. Trout can be fished all year in the reservoir with a bag of five.
Where to fish it
With bare, steep margins, look for any feature that breaks them up: points, old fence lines, inflow gullies and spots where the bottom drops away quickly. Trout cruise these edges at first light in the cooler months and take mudeyes or worms under a float, small minnows or wet flies. Cod and golden perch hold deeper in summer. Coliban Water provides a single entry and exit point for kayaks, canoes and small electric craft.
Reading the report
Being the deepest of the three storages, Lauriston holds cooler water deeper into summer, which the estimated water temperature row can only approximate. The chart shows the supply draw-down that widens the bare margins. The Central Highlands can be cold and windy; on a small craft, check the wind row before setting out.
Licence, access and rules
A current Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required unless you are exempt; our Victoria page sets out the prices. Coliban Water opens the site in daylight hours, requires lifejackets on the water, sets a five-knot limit and does not allow fuel-powered motors, swimming, camping or fires. The VFA cod and trout rules are in the sources.
The three Coliban storages
Coliban Water’s three storages on the Coliban River fish differently. Lauriston is the deepest, according to Coliban Water. The VFA angling guide describes Upper Coliban as the uppermost of the three and usually the first drawn down in high demand, and Malmsbury as having more shallows than the other two and probably being the most productive, especially when rising water covers new grass. All three allow bank fishing and small electric or paddle craft, so an angler can pick the one that suits the conditions on the day.
Common questions
What fish are in Lauriston Reservoir?
Stocked brown trout, Murray cod and golden perch, with redfin and roach; cod are closed from 1 September to 30 November.
Can I use a boat at Lauriston?
Yes: kayaks, canoes and small craft with electric motors, launched at Coliban Water’s single entry point; fuel-powered motors are not allowed.
Is fishing good at Lauriston 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 LAURISTON — Lauriston Reservoir
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- coliban.com.au/about-us/our-reservoirs/lauriston-reservoir
- vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/recreational-fishing-guide/catch-l
- vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/fish-stocking/db/fishstockdatabase
- vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/fishing-locations/inland-angling-g
- vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/recreational-fishing-guide/trout-a
- bom.gov.au/waterdata
- 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.