Golden perch
Excellent
Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
Upper Coliban Reservoir Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The uppermost Coliban Water storage, near Kyneton: stocked trout, golden perch and Murray cod on the VFA’s two-cod lake list, with electric and paddle craft from two recreation areas.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
505.55 m37,730 ML
Air / High
11 °C / 17 °C
Wind
N 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge UPPERCOLIBAN, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Upper Coliban Reservoir sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. The gauge reads 505.55 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 3 km/h, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 17 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Murray cod
Closed today
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.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 11:30 PM-1:30 AM, 11:58 AM-1:58 PM, 5:09 AM-6:09 AM. Warmer at 21 °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 Upper Coliban Reservoir today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:08), sunset (20:04), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 PM; minor 5:09 AM-6:09 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station UPPERCOLIBAN (Upper Coliban Reservoir).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station UPPERCOLIBAN. Latest reading 2026-11-07 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low17 °C / 4 °C
WindN 4 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure1017.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain14% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:08 / 20:04
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Upper Coliban Reservoir
The best day on Upper Coliban Reservoir this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 PM
- Minor period
- 5:09 AM-6:09 AM
- Sun
- 06:08 to 20:04
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Upper Coliban Reservoir: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Murray cod
Closed 1 September to 30 November in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, and 1 August to 31 October in Queensland; check the exempt lakes
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.
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. Prime. Hop soft plastics and vibes around the timber, or fish shrimp and worms on the bottom.
When to come: the Upper Coliban Reservoir 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 19 °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 Upper Coliban Reservoir today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 12 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 11 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Golden perch led the card at excellent. High of 18 °C, wind to 21 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
Anglers need the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence unless exempt, and our Victoria page shows what it costs.
Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on Victoria dam levels today.
About this water
Upper Coliban Reservoir is a lake in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Upper Coliban Reservoir: the full guide
The lake
Upper Coliban Reservoir was completed in 1903 and is a key part of Coliban Water’s system near Kyneton. The VFA angling guide describes a deep storage in farmland, the uppermost of the three Coliban storages and usually the first drawn down when demand is high, which leaves bare margins. Coliban Water runs two recreation areas, Premier Mine Road and Springhill Road, with different facilities and permitted activities. Level readings and the 30-day chart come from the Bureau of Meteorology’s Upper Coliban Reservoir station.
Species and seasons
The VFA database lists a broad stocking mix since 2010: golden perch, silver perch and Murray cod up to 2026, rainbow trout up to August 2026 and brown trout up to 2025. Upper Coliban is a VFA specified lake with a bag of two cod inside the 55 to 75 cm slot, and it is not an exempt water, so cod are closed from 1 September to 30 November. Macquarie perch were stocked here in the 1990s but are now protected in every Victorian water and must be released. Trout have no closed season in the reservoir.
Where to fish it
Bank anglers can fish at both recreation areas, and Coliban Water provides two entry and exit points for kayaks, canoes and small craft. In late September 2026 the reservoir was spilling and the access point by the dam wall off the Kyneton to Springhill road was closed, with launching directed to the Premier Mine Road ramp. Trout feed along the edges in cool weather; natives hold on any structure in the warmer months.
Reading the report
The chart tells you whether the lake is full or drawn down for supply; as the uppermost storage it usually falls first. The estimated water temperature row sits in the trout range for much of the year. When the storage is spilling, follow Coliban Water’s notices, because access changes for safety.
Licence, access and rules
Anglers need the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence unless exempt, and our Victoria page shows what it costs. Coliban Water opens the site in daylight hours, requires lifejackets, sets a five-knot limit and allows only electric-powered boats and paddle craft, not sail craft, paddle boards or inflatables. Dogs must be on a lead, and camping and fires are not permitted. The VFA’s cod and trout rules are linked in the sources.
Common questions
Is cod closed in spring at Upper Coliban?
Yes. The reservoir is not a VFA exempt water, so cod are closed from 1 September to 30 November; outside that, two may be kept between 55 and 75 cm.
Can I use a boat at Upper Coliban?
Yes, electric-powered boats, kayaks and canoes, from Coliban Water’s two entry points; while the reservoir spills, launch at the Premier Mine Road ramp.
Is fishing good at Upper Coliban Reservoir 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 UPPERCOLIBAN — Upper Coliban Reservoir
- 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.