Melton Reservoir Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Werribee River reservoir at Melton, west of Melbourne: Murray cod on the VFA’s urban-lakes list, open all year south of the Divide, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
81.18 m11,431 ML
Air / High
14 °C / 24 °C
Wind
SSE 2 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 231221A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Melton Reservoir has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 81.18 m, up 0.06 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 2 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 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 14 °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 Melton Reservoir today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:07), sunset (18:20), 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 231221A (WERRIBEE R MELTON RS).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 231221A. Latest reading 2026-09-23 13:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low24 °C / 13 °C
WindSSE 2 km/h, gusts 4 km/h
Pressure1026.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 55%
Sunrise / Sunset06:07 / 18:20
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Melton Reservoir
The best day on Melton Reservoir this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 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 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:07 to 18:20
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 55%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Melton Reservoir: 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
Open all year Melton Reservoir is south of the Great Dividing Range, open all year 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 Melton 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 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 Melton Reservoir 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 25 °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 19 °C, wind to 10 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 14 °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
A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required at Melton Reservoir unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Melton Reservoir is a lake in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Melton Reservoir: the full guide
Melton Reservoir
Melton Reservoir is the storage on the Werribee River at Melton, on the western edge of Melbourne, an irrigation reservoir in a basalt gorge whose water supplies the Werribee district. The VFA lists it among the urban lakes on its Murray cod page, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the reservoir supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page. Melbourne and Port Phillip have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Murray cod are the headline fish of Melton Reservoir, with golden perch and redfin the fish most visits produce. The reservoir is south of the Great Dividing Range, where the VFA does not apply the Murray cod closed season, so cod may be kept all year within the limits; the species card computes it with the VFA page linked.
Where to fish it
The access points Southern Rural Water and the council keep open around Melton Reservoir are where it is fished from the bank, casting lures and bait into the deeper water off the rocky shore. The gorge setting means the banks are steep in places. The deeper water near the dam wall holds cod in the summer heat.
Planning a visit
Melton Reservoir is on the western edge of Melbourne, close to the Western Freeway and the town of Melton, which has tackle and supplies. It suits a short session from the city; bring cod lures and bait for redfin, and check the access rules before walking down to the water in the gorge.
Reading this report here
The basalt plains west of Melbourne are windy, and the wind row matters on the open water of the reservoir; the chart shows the storage level, which falls through the irrigation season. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Melton Reservoir.
Licence, access and rules
A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is required at Melton Reservoir unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The water authority sets the access rules, and the VFA’s cod limits are in the sources.
Common questions
Is Murray cod closed at Melton Reservoir in spring?
No. The reservoir is south of the Great Dividing Range, where the VFA closed season does not apply.
What can I catch at Melton Reservoir?
Murray cod, golden perch and redfin.
Do I need a licence at Melton Reservoir?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Melton 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 231221A — WERRIBEE R MELTON RS
- 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.