Loddon River at Newstead Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The upper Loddon at Newstead: trout, redfin and the first natives in the pools above Cairn Curran, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.91 m
Air / High
13 °C / 24 °C
Wind
SSE 5 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 407215, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Loddon River at Newstead has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.91 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 24 °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 18 °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 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 Newstead 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 407215 (LODDON @ NEWSTEAD).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 407215. Latest reading 2026-09-24 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low24 °C / 12 °C
WindSSE 5 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1024.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain22% cloud, 25%
Sunrise / Sunset06:09 / 18:22
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Loddon River at Newstead
The best day on Loddon River at Newstead this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 2 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 — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- 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
- Overcast, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 25%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Loddon River at Newstead: 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 Loddon River at Newstead 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 Loddon River at Newstead 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 23 °C, wind to 14 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 20 °C, wind to 8 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 17 °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 applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Loddon River at Newstead is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Loddon River at Newstead: the full guide
The reach
The Loddon at Newstead is the upper river above Cairn Curran, running through the old gold town between Castlemaine and Maryborough over rock pools, gravel and willows with the river reserve, the bridge and the Guildford reaches upstream. It is trout and redfin water with natives in the deeper pools, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Newstead supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are stocked and fish the pools and the runs in the cool months on bait, spinners and the fly, under the Victorian stream closure from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday of September, computed on the species card; redfin are the numbers fish through the year; golden perch and Murray cod, stocked into the upper Loddon, hold in the deeper pools in summer, the cod under the September to November closure; and carp are present under the VFA rules.
Where to fish it
The river reserve and the bridge give bank access to the pools at the town, the Guildford and Strangways reaches upstream are reached from the road crossings, and a kayak covers the pools downstream toward the Cairn Curran backwater; the pools and the willows are the water. Cairn Curran has its own page.
Reading the report
The chart shows an unregulated upper river that rises after rain and falls to its pools through summer, when it can nearly stop; a fresh moves the trout and the redfin. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the trout band from autumn to spring and a short warm band for the natives; the open country lets the wind cross the river; pressure and sky fill the score.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The reserve, the bridge and the crossings are public; the VFA trout stream rules and the cod closure are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Loddon at Newstead?
Stocked trout in the cool months, redfin through the year, and golden perch and cod in the deeper pools in summer.
Do I need a licence at Newstead?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Loddon River at Newstead right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 407215 — LODDON @ NEWSTEAD
- 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.