Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Thomson River at Walhalla Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Thomson near Walhalla: trout in the rocky river below the dam, in the goldfields country of the Baw Baw ranges, with the Bureau’s gauge just downstream at Coopers Creek.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.60 m
Air / High
9 °C / 18 °C
Wind
ENE 14 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 225208B, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Thomson River at Walhalla is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 0.60 m, up 0.05 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 14 km/h, steady pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 18 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:49 AM-1:49 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Excellent
Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
River blackfish
Closed today
Reopens 1 Jan 2027. River blackfish and two-spined blackfish cannot be taken or possessed in, on or next to Victorian waters south of the Great Dividing Range from 1 September to 31 December inclusive.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:21 PM-1:21 AM, 11:49 AM-1:49 PM, 4:60 AM-5:60 AM. Warmer at 24 °C with a rain chance. 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 Thomson River at Walhalla today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:59), sunset (19:57), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:49 AM-1:49 PM; minor 4:60 AM-5:60 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 225208B (THOMSON R-COOPERS CK).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 225208B. Latest reading 2026-11-08 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp9 °C
High / Low18 °C / 8 °C
WindENE 14 km/h, gusts 30 km/h
Pressure1019.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:59 / 19:57
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Thomson River at Walhalla
The best day on Thomson River at Walhalla this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:49 AM-1:49 PM
- Minor period
- 4:60 AM-5:60 AM
- Sun
- 05:59 to 19:57
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Thomson River at Walhalla: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of 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. Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Brown trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of 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. Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
River blackfish
Victoria: closed 1 September to 31 December south of the Great Dividing Range; an evening and night fish the rest of the year
Closed now Reopens 1 Jan 2027. River blackfish and two-spined blackfish cannot be taken or possessed in, on or next to Victorian waters south of the Great Dividing Range from 1 September to 31 December inclusive. Rule as read from Victorian Fisheries Authority on 2026-09-29.
A slimy, mottled native of cool, snag-filled streams on both sides of the Divide in Victoria, feeding mainly at night, late evening and early morning. The VFA sets a 30 cm minimum and a combined bag of 2 blackfish, and closes them from 1 September to 31 December south of the Great Dividing Range.
When to come: the Thomson River at Walhalla 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
River blackfish
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 Thomson River at Walhalla today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 11 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 19 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
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies to anyone not exempt, and our Victoria page has the prices.
About this water
Thomson River at Walhalla is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Thomson River at Walhalla: the full guide
The reach
The Thomson near Walhalla is the river below Thomson Dam, running clear and rocky through steep forested country with pools between rapids on its way toward Cowwarr and the Gippsland plains. The old gold town of Walhalla lies in a side valley close by. The catchment above the dam is a closed water-supply catchment. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Coopers Creek, station 225208B, about 3 km downstream of the Stringers Creek junction below Walhalla, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are the fish, in the pools and runs on the fly and on spinners, under the Victorian stream closure computed on the species card, which bars taking trout from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday of September. Blackfish, found in the deeper pools, have separate limits. The VFA’s stocking record lists Australian bass released into the Thomson River, a fish of the lower river rather than this reach.
Where to fish it
Road crossings and public land give access to the river, and walking tracks reach pools the road cannot. It is wading water in the runs and pool heads, and the rocks are slippery; wading boots with good grip and a staff are worth carrying. Low light, early or late, suits these trout best.
Reading the report
The chart follows releases from Thomson Dam as well as rain in the ranges, and a big release makes the rocky reaches fast and unsafe to wade; a low release shows the rock and brings the fish into reach. The modelled water temperature, labelled as an estimate, runs cold because of the dam, and the page says so.
Licence, access and rules
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies to anyone not exempt, and our Victoria page has the prices. Both the trout regulations and the blackfish limits from the VFA are linked here.
Walhalla
The town is a short drive from the river and makes a base for a day on the water. For the angler, the point is the combination of a regulated flow, which keeps the river running through summer, and rough country that limits how many people fish it. Plan around the release rather than the calendar.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Thomson near Walhalla?
Brown and rainbow trout in the open season and blackfish in the pools.
Is the Thomson open for trout in winter?
No. Trout may not be taken from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday of September, as the species card shows.
Is fishing good at Thomson River at Walhalla 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 225208B — THOMSON R-COOPERS CK
- 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.