Ovens River at Peechelba Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lower Ovens at Peechelba near the Murray: Murray cod and protected trout cod in a red gum river, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
128.14 m
Air / High
17 °C / 26 °C
Wind
E 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 403241, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Ovens River at Peechelba is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 128.14 m, easing 0.62 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind E around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 26 °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. Similar at 24 °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 Ovens River at Peechelba today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:00), sunset (18:13), 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 403241 (OVENS @ PEECHELBA).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 403241. Latest reading 2026-09-24 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp17 °C
High / Low26 °C / 15 °C
WindE 6 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure1023.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain96% cloud, 33%
Sunrise / Sunset06:00 / 18:13
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Ovens River at Peechelba
The best day on Ovens River at Peechelba 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
- 06:00 to 18:13
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 33%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Ovens River at Peechelba: 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 Ovens River at Peechelba 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 Ovens River at Peechelba 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 24 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at fair. High of 21 °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 17 °C, wind to 13 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 on the Ovens unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Ovens River at Peechelba is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Ovens River at Peechelba: the full guide
The Ovens at Peechelba
Peechelba is the locality on the lower Ovens River north of Wangaratta, where the river winds through red gum forest and floodplain billabongs on its last reach to Lake Mulwala and the Murray. The lower Ovens is one of the waters where the endangered trout cod lives. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Peechelba supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Ovens at Wangaratta and Lake Mulwala have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Murray cod are the fish of the lower Ovens, in the red gum snags and the deep bends, with golden perch in the warm months; trout cod, which look similar, are protected and must be released. The Murray cod closed season, 1 September to 30 November, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The forest tracks and reserves along the lower Ovens give access to the river, and a kayak covers the snag-lined reaches and the billabongs.
Planning a visit
Wangaratta, to the south, has supplies and tackle. Learn to tell a trout cod from a Murray cod before you go: the VFA page in the sources shows the difference.
The river through the year
The lower Ovens is largely unregulated, so its floods spread across the red gum forests and billabongs around Peechelba in wet years, and it runs low in dry summers. Cod feed through summer and autumn in the snags and the deep bends, and the forest floods bring a burst of food and fish activity as they drain. The billabongs are good places to find redfin. The chart shows the flood pulses as they pass.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Ovens rising after rain in the Alps and spilling onto the floodplain in wet years. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Peechelba.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies on the Ovens unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The VFA limits, the cod closure and the trout cod protection are in the sources.
Common questions
Can I keep a trout cod from the Ovens?
No. Trout cod are protected and must be released.
When is Murray cod closed on the Ovens?
From 1 September to 30 November.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Ovens River at Peechelba 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 403241 — OVENS @ PEECHELBA
- 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.