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 Wandocka Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Thomson at Wandocka below the high country: brown trout in a Gippsland valley river, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.87 m
Air / High
11 °C / 18 °C
Wind
ENE 7 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 225212, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Thomson River at Wandocka has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 1.87 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 8 km/h, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 18 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 11:47 AM-1:47 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: 11:19 PM-1:19 AM, 11:47 AM-1:47 PM, 4:58 AM-5:58 AM. Warmer at 23 °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 Wandocka today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:57), sunset (19:55), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 11:47 AM-1:47 PM; minor 4:58 AM-5:58 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 225212 (THOMSON @ WANDOCKA).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 225212. Latest reading 2026-11-07 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low18 °C / 8 °C
WindENE 7 km/h, gusts 18 km/h
Pressure1020.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset05:57 / 19:55
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Thomson River at Wandocka
The best day on Thomson River at Wandocka 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
- 11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 11:47 AM-1:47 PM
- Minor period
- 4:58 AM-5:58 AM
- Sun
- 05:57 to 19:55
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 2%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Thomson River at Wandocka: 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 Wandocka 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 Wandocka 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 16 °C, wind to 16 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 14 °C, wind to 29 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 21 °C, wind to 24 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 Thomson River at Wandocka unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Thomson River at Wandocka is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Thomson River at Wandocka: the full guide
The Thomson at Wandocka
Wandocka is a gauging site on the Thomson River in Gippsland, on the reach between the high country and the plains around Heyfield and Cowwarr, where the river runs through flat farmland between river red gums and willows. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Wandocka supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Thomson at Walhalla and Lake Glenmaggie have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of this reach of the Thomson, in the runs and pools on the fly, lures and bait, with river blackfish in the snags; the VFA also records redfin, eels and Australian grayling below Cowwarr Weir. On the Thomson River at Wandocka, Victoria’s river trout closure, the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The crossings and reserves around Heyfield and Cowwarr give access to the river; much of the frontage is farmland, so stay on public land.
Planning a visit
Heyfield is the nearest town, and Traralgon and Sale are larger centres nearby. Bring light trout gear.
The river through the year
Thomson Reservoir, which the Victorian Environmental Water Holder calls the largest water supply storage for metropolitan Melbourne, harvests most of the upper river, and Cowwarr Weir, upstream of Wandocka, splits the flow between the old Thomson course and Rainbow Creek and supplies the Macalister Irrigation District. Environmental water is released from the reservoir, with a focus on the Australian grayling, a threatened species that spawns on autumn freshes. Below the weir the VFA describes deep pools, slow runs, turbid water and a sand and gravel bed, with brown trout averaging around 220 g. The trout are most active in the cooler months and in spring, and the river trout closure takes them out of the winter.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Thomson’s flow, which depends on releases from the Thomson Reservoir and Cowwarr Weir and on rain. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool in spring and autumn; pressure and sky build the score at Wandocka.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies on the Thomson River at Wandocka unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The VFA rules for the Thomson River at Wandocka are in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Thomson closed for trout?
On the Thomson River at Wandocka, from the Tuesday after the King’s Birthday weekend to the Friday before the first Saturday in September.
What can I catch here?
Brown trout and river blackfish.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes: unless you are exempt, fishing the Thomson River at Wandocka takes the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Thomson River at Wandocka 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 225212 — THOMSON @ WANDOCKA
- 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.