Rainbow trout
Slow
Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Tambo River at Swifts Creek Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The upper Tambo at Swifts Creek: a trout stream in the high country between Omeo and the coast, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.63 m
Air / High
14 °C / 27 °C
Wind
NNW 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 223202, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Tambo River at Swifts Creek has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 1.63 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNW around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 27 °C. Water sits around 8 °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.
Brown trout
Slow
The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
Tie on: Bait on the bottom, running sinker · Heavy blade, deep · Slow-rolled swimbait · Live bait, deepest hole. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 17 °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 Tambo River at Swifts Creek today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:54), sunset (18:07), 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 223202 (TAMBO @ SWIFTS CREEK).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 223202. Latest reading 2026-09-24 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low27 °C / 13 °C
WindNNW 6 km/h, gusts 16 km/h
Pressure1024.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain73% cloud, 75%
Sunrise / Sunset05:54 / 18:07
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Tambo River at Swifts Creek
The best day on Tambo River at Swifts Creek this week looks like Monday 28 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: Monday, 28 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
- 05:54 to 18:07
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 75%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Tambo River at Swifts Creek: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from 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. Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Brown trout
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from 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. The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
When to come: the Tambo River at Swifts Creek 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
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 8 °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 Tambo River at Swifts Creek 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. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 26 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at fair. High of 21 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at fair. High of 16 °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
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Tambo River at Swifts Creek is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Tambo River at Swifts Creek: the full guide
The reach
The Tambo at Swifts Creek is the upper river in the high country south of Omeo, running fast and clear over gravel and rock through the town and the valley’s grazing flats toward Ensay and the gorges above Bruthen, with the Great Alpine Road beside it. It is a trout stream, distinct from the estuary at the lakes that has its own page, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Swifts Creek supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are the fish, wild and stocked, in the runs and the pools on spinners, bait 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; blackfish are in the deeper pools under their own rules; and the lower river toward the lakes carries bass and bream. The Tambo River estuary page covers the lakes end.
Where to fish it
The town reserves and the road crossings give bank access, the river is a wader’s water in the runs and the pool heads, and the valley road from Omeo down to Ensay gives a day of new water; dawn on the runs is the trout hour. The gorges below Ensay are wilder water reached on foot.
Reading the report
The chart shows a high-country river that rises with the snowmelt and after rain and falls to its gravel through summer; a fresh moves the trout. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cold for most of the year at this altitude; the valley funnels the wind; pressure and sky fill the score.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The reserves and the crossings are public; the VFA trout stream rules and the blackfish rules are in the sources.
Omeo and the high country
Swifts Creek sits between Omeo and Ensay on the Great Alpine Road, and the trout streams of the Omeo district, the Livingstone, the Bundara and the upper Tambo toward Bindi, are within an hour; the district fishes best in spring after the snowmelt drops and in autumn when the water cools, and the road over the top continues to the Mitta Mitta.
Common questions
Is this the same Tambo River as the lakes page?
The same river, higher up: this page is the trout water of the high country; the Tambo River page covers the estuary at the Gippsland Lakes with its bream and bass.
Do I need a licence at Swifts Creek?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Tambo River at Swifts Creek 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 223202 — TAMBO @ SWIFTS CREEK
- 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.