Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Macalister River at Licola Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Macalister above Glenmaggie at Licola: a mountain trout stream on the edge of the Alpine National Park, with the Wellington River camps just north and the Bureau’s gauge at the village.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.46 m
Air / High
10 °C / 20 °C
Wind
S 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 225209, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Macalister River at Licola has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 1.46 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 6 km/h, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 20 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:20 PM-1:20 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 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.
River blackfish
Closed today
Reopens 1 Jan 2027. River blackfish and two-spined blackfish cannot be taken or possessed in, on or next to Victorian waters south of the Great Dividing Range from 1 September to 31 December inclusive.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:20 PM-1:20 AM, 11:48 AM-1:48 PM, 4:60 AM-5:60 AM. Warmer at 27 °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 Macalister River at Licola today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:59), sunset (19:56), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:20 PM-1:20 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM; minor 4:60 AM-5:60 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 225209 (MACALISTER @ LICOLA).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 225209. Latest reading 2026-11-07 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp10 °C
High / Low20 °C / 6 °C
WindS 6 km/h, gusts 21 km/h
Pressure1020.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset05:59 / 19:56
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Macalister River at Licola
The best day on Macalister River at Licola this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:20 PM-1:20 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM
- Minor period
- 4:60 AM-5:60 AM
- Sun
- 05:59 to 19:56
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 6%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Macalister River at Licola: 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 now Closes 15 June 2027. Rivers and streams close from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September. Lakes and reservoirs stay open all year. 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 now Closes 15 June 2027. Rivers and streams close from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September. Lakes and reservoirs stay open all year. 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.
River blackfish
Victoria: closed 1 September to 31 December south of the Great Dividing Range; an evening and night fish the rest of the year
Closed now Reopens 1 Jan 2027. River blackfish and two-spined blackfish cannot be taken or possessed in, on or next to Victorian waters south of the Great Dividing Range from 1 September to 31 December inclusive. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority on 2026-09-29.
A slimy, mottled native of cool, snag-filled streams on both sides of the Divide in Victoria, feeding mainly at night, late evening and early morning. The VFA sets a 30 cm minimum and a combined bag of 2 blackfish, and closes them from 1 September to 31 December south of the Great Dividing Range.
When to come: the Macalister River at Licola 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
River blackfish
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 Macalister River at Licola 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 14 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 13 °C, wind to 16 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 23 °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 is required unless you are exempt; see our Victoria page for fees.
About this water
Macalister River at Licola is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Macalister River at Licola: the full guide
The reach
The Macalister at Licola is the river above Lake Glenmaggie where it comes out of the high country past the small village of Licola, running fast and clear over rock and gravel between forested ridges, with the Wellington River joining nearby. It is a mountain trout stream, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Licola, station 225209, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are the fish, in the runs and pools, on 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. River blackfish are in the deeper pools under their own rules. The VFA’s stocking record includes Australian bass released into the Macalister upstream of Glenmaggie to Licola. Lake Glenmaggie has its own page.
Where to fish it
Roadside reserves along the Licola road give access to pools and runs, and the Wellington River camping areas upstream offer more. This is wading water fished on foot. Walk the bank to the tail of a run, then cast up into it, working a nymph or small spinner along the seams where fast water meets slow.
Reading the report
The chart shows a mountain river that rises with snowmelt and after rain and falls back to its gravel through summer. A fresh gets the trout feeding; a low, clear river makes them wary and pushes the fishing to the shaded edges of the day. The modelled water temperature, labelled as an estimate, reads cold for most of the year.
Licence, access and rules
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence is required unless you are exempt; see our Victoria page for fees. Camping in the Alpine National Park follows Parks Victoria’s rules. The VFA trout and blackfish rules are linked from this page.
The Wellington River
Parks Victoria describes the Wellington River camping areas as sitting along the Tamboritha Road just north of Licola, the main two-wheel-drive route into this part of the Alpine National Park, with shaded sites and easy river access. The Wellington is a smaller trout stream than the Macalister and a good choice when the bigger river is high after rain.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Macalister at Licola?
Brown and rainbow trout in the open season and blackfish in the pools; the VFA has also stocked Australian bass into this part of the river.
Is there camping near Licola?
Yes. Parks Victoria lists the Wellington River camping areas on the Tamboritha Road just north of Licola.
Is fishing good at Macalister River at Licola 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 225209 — MACALISTER @ LICOLA
- 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.