The Ovens at Wangaratta: cod and golden perch in the lower river through the town, at the King junction, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
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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.
The species that matter on Ovens River at Wangaratta: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
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.
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.
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius.
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.
Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), from A$10.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
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.
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
Ovens River at Wangaratta is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
The Ovens at Wangaratta is the lower river as it meets the King River in the town and runs on through the red gums toward the Murray at Bundalong, slow, timbered and warm, with the town’s river parks, the Apex Park junction and the caravan parks on its banks. It is cod and perch water with trout still passing through in winter, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Wangaratta supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Murray cod fish the snags, the junction and the deep bends through summer and autumn on lures and bait, with the VFA bag of one in the river and the closure from 1 September to 30 November computed on the species card; golden perch are the everyday fish from spring to autumn; trout drop down in the cool months and are taken at the junction; redfin and carp are present under the VFA rules.
The river parks and the King junction give bank access at the town, the caravan parks give the reaches either side, and a kayak covers the pools downstream toward Peechelba; the deep outside bends and the timber are the cod water, and the junction is the spot when either river runs. Night fishing with surface lures along the snags is the summer method.
The chart shows the sum of the Ovens and the King, rising after rain in the ranges and falling to its pools through summer; a fresh brings the perch on. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the cod band from December to April; the flat country lets the wind cross the river; pressure counts before a summer storm.
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The parks and the junction are public; the VFA limits, the river bag and the closure are in the sources.
Below Wangaratta the Ovens runs another fifty kilometres through the red gum forests of Peechelba and Killawarra to the Murray at Bundalong, and the forest reaches, reached by the river tracks, are the quiet cod water of the district for an angler with a boat and a day; the Yarrawonga weir pool at the junction is Lake Mulwala, which has its own page.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Wangaratta, station 403200, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page with the time of the reading.
Murray cod in season, golden perch in the warm months, trout at the junction in the cool ones, redfin and carp.
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Pablo Ruiz QuinteroReadings 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.