Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Malmsbury Reservoir Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The first storage built on the Coliban River, at Malmsbury: stocked golden perch, Murray cod and brown trout, shore fishing and small electric or paddle craft when open.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
447.82 m11,849 ML
Air / High
12 °C / 18 °C
Wind
NE 3 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge MALMSBURY, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Malmsbury Reservoir is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. The gauge reads 447.82 m, up 0.11 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 19 °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.
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: 11:30 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 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 Malmsbury 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 MALMSBURY (Malmsbury Reservoir).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station MALMSBURY. 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)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Malmsbury Reservoir
The best day on Malmsbury Reservoir 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
- 11:30 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 Malmsbury Reservoir: 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 Malmsbury 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
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 Malmsbury Reservoir 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 13 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
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 12 °C, wind to 24 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 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
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; see our Victoria page.
Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on Victoria dam levels today.
About this water
Malmsbury Reservoir is a lake in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Malmsbury Reservoir: the full guide
The lake
Malmsbury Reservoir was the first storage built on the Coliban River; Coliban Water says construction began in 1866. It is one of the utility’s three main storages near Kyneton and is now promoted as a family-friendly place for shoreline fishing, kayaks, canoes and car-top boats. The VFA angling guide describes a deep storage surrounded by forest and farmland, with more shallow margins than the other two Coliban storages. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Malmsbury Reservoir station provides the level and the 30-day chart displayed here.
Species and seasons
The VFA database shows golden perch released eight times since 2010 and as recently as April 2026, Murray cod up to February 2026 and brown trout most years, the latest in August 2026. Malmsbury is not among the VFA’s exempt waters, so cod are closed from 1 September to 30 November; outside that period the 55 to 75 cm slot applies. Trout can be fished all year in the reservoir. Redfin are common in the neighbouring Coliban storages, according to the VFA angling guide.
Where to fish it
The VFA angling guide says Malmsbury fishes particularly well when rising water spreads over newly grassed margins, so after rain and a lift in level, work those flooded edges for trout and golden perch with baits, small soft plastics or flies. Coliban Water warns there is a long walk over rocky ground to reach the water for launching, so light kayaks are easier than heavier boats.
Reading the report
Watch the chart for a rising line, the angling guide’s trigger for good fishing on the grassy shallows. The estimated water temperature row separates the cooler trout months from warmer periods when golden perch and cod feed more freely. Open water on the tableland can be windy, and a chop makes the shallows murky.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; see our Victoria page. Coliban Water opens the site in daylight hours, requires lifejackets on the water and sets a five-knot limit; fuel-powered motors, swimming, camping and fires are not allowed. In September 2026 the reservoir was temporarily closed to all on-water recreation after heavy rain, so check Coliban Water’s notice before bringing a boat.
The three Coliban storages
Malmsbury, Lauriston and Upper Coliban share the same manager and much the same rules, but differ in character. Coliban Water describes Lauriston as the deepest of the three, and the VFA angling guide notes that Upper Coliban, the uppermost, is usually drawn down first. Malmsbury’s shallower margins make it the one to try when the level is rising, and the VFA stocks all three with a mix of trout and native fish.
Common questions
What can I catch at Malmsbury Reservoir?
Stocked golden perch, Murray cod and brown trout, plus redfin; cod are closed from 1 September to 30 November.
Can I kayak at Malmsbury Reservoir?
Usually yes, with a lifejacket and at five knots or less, but Coliban Water closed the reservoir to on-water recreation after heavy rain in September 2026; check its notice first.
Is fishing good at Malmsbury 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 MALMSBURY — Malmsbury Reservoir
- 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.