Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Loddon River at Bridgewater Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Loddon at Bridgewater on the Calder: cod and golden perch in the weir pool and the timbered reaches north of Bendigo.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~19 °C est.
Air / High
15 °C / 22 °C
Wind
E 8 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Loddon River at Bridgewater is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 8 km/h, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 22 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:32 PM-1:32 AM and 11:59 AM-1:59 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: 11:32 PM-1:32 AM, 11:59 AM-1:59 PM, 5:13 AM-6:13 AM. Warmer at 28 °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 Loddon River at Bridgewater today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:11), sunset (20:04), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:32 PM-1:32 AM and 11:59 AM-1:59 PM; minor 5:13 AM-6:13 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Bureau of Meteorology station 407200 (LODDON @ BRIDGEWATER) has sent no reading in the last 30 days, so conditions here are modelled from weather, season and the nearest stations.
No recent gauge reading
Readings come back here when station 407200 reports again. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low22 °C / 6 °C
WindE 8 km/h, gusts 14 km/h
Pressure1016.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:11 / 20:04
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Loddon River at Bridgewater
The best day on Loddon River at Bridgewater 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
- 11:32 PM-1:32 AM and 11:59 AM-1:59 PM
- Minor period
- 5:13 AM-6:13 AM
- Sun
- 06:11 to 20:04
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Loddon River at Bridgewater: 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 Loddon River at Bridgewater 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 Loddon River at Bridgewater today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 18 °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 29 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 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
A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is needed unless an exemption applies; fees are on our Victoria page.
About this water
Loddon River at Bridgewater is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Loddon River at Bridgewater: the full guide
The reach
The Loddon at Bridgewater is the river north of Bendigo where the Calder Highway crosses it, held into a pool by the town weir and running on through red gums toward the northern plains. Upstream, Cairn Curran and Laanecoorie regulate the flow. It is Murray cod and golden perch water; the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Bridgewater, station 407200, no longer reports, so this page carries no live level.
Species and seasons
Murray cod fish the snags and deep bends through summer and autumn; the VFA river rule is one cod a day between 55 and 75 cm, with the 1 September to 30 November closure computed on the species card. The VFA’s stocking record lists Murray cod for the Loddon River. Golden perch are the common catch from spring to autumn. Upstream, Laanecoorie Reservoir is a VFA specified lake with a cod bag of two, and Cairn Curran is both specified and exempt from the cod closure.
Where to fish it
Parkland beside the weir pool gives bank access at the town, and a kayak covers the timbered reaches downstream. Stay clear of the weir structure. Cod sit tight to timber; cast past a snag and bring the lure back along its edge, then try the same snag again from a different angle before moving on.
Reading the report
The level reflects releases from the storages upstream and the management of the town pool, so it tends to sit steady except when a flood comes through. The modelled water temperature is an estimate, not a reading, and gives the cod band from November to April. Open country lets the wind across the pool.
Licence, access and rules
A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is needed unless an exemption applies; fees are on our Victoria page. The VFA cod rules, with the river and specified-lake bags, are linked from this page. Laanecoorie and Cairn Curran have their own pages.
Sharing the pool
Weir pools like this one are also used for boating and swimming in summer, so on a hot weekend the quiet fishing is at dawn and dusk. The timbered river below the weir is the better choice in the middle of the day, when a slow, deep presentation along the snags still produces fish.
Common questions
How many cod can I keep at Bridgewater?
One a day from the river, between 55 and 75 cm, under the VFA rule; specified lakes such as Laanecoorie allow two.
Do I need a licence at Bridgewater?
Yes, unless you are exempt: Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Loddon River at Bridgewater 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
- 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.