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.
Wonnangatta River at Crooked River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Wonnangatta at Crooked River in the Victorian Alps: wild trout in remote high country, with a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
1.48 m
Air / High
14 °C / 27 °C
Wind
WNW 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 224206, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Wonnangatta River at Crooked River has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 1.48 m, easing 0.09 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WNW around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 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 Wonnangatta River at Crooked River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:57), sunset (18:10), 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 224206 (WONNANGATTA @CROOKED).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 224206. Latest reading 2026-09-24 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low27 °C / 13 °C
WindWNW 4 km/h, gusts 30 km/h
Pressure1024.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain29% cloud, 78%
Sunrise / Sunset05:57 / 18:10
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Wonnangatta River at Crooked River
The best day on Wonnangatta River at Crooked River this week looks like Tuesday 29 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 2 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: Tuesday, 29 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 25 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:57 to 18:10
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 78%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Wonnangatta River at Crooked River: 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 Wonnangatta River at Crooked River 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 Wonnangatta River at Crooked River 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 27 °C, wind to 18 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 22 °C, wind to 11 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 17 °C, wind to 14 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
Wonnangatta River at Crooked River is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Wonnangatta River at Crooked River: the full guide
The Wonnangatta at Crooked River
The Wonnangatta River runs through the remote high country of the Alpine National Park in eastern Victoria, a clear river of wild valleys and cattlemen’s huts reached only on four-wheel-drive tracks; the gauge sits near its junction with the Crooked River. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge there supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Mitchell River has its own page.
Species and seasons
Wild brown and rainbow trout are the fish of the Wonnangatta, in the runs and pools on the fly and small spinners. 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 four-wheel-drive tracks into the Wonnangatta and Crooked River valleys and the campsites along them give access, and the river is walked and waded from camp.
Planning a visit
This is remote country: the tracks have seasonal closures, there is no phone coverage, and a trip needs a capable vehicle, supplies and a plan. Dargo is the nearest village with fuel.
The river through the year
The Wonnangatta is unregulated high-country water: snowmelt and spring rain keep it high and cold into late spring, and the tracks close in winter. The trout season opens in September, but the tracks into the valley are often closed until later in spring, so the best fishing is from late spring into autumn, when the river is lower and clearer and the trout rise to the hatches in the runs. A trip here is planned around four-wheel-drive access, weather and supplies.
Reading this report here
The chart shows snowmelt and rain lifting the river; a high river makes the crossings dangerous. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cold for much of the season; pressure and sky build the score on the Wonnangatta.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. Parks Victoria’s track closures and the VFA rules are in the sources.
Common questions
How do I get to the Wonnangatta?
On four-wheel-drive tracks with seasonal closures; check Parks Victoria before going.
What can I catch there?
Wild brown and rainbow trout.
Do I need a licence there?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Wonnangatta River at Crooked River right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 224206 — WONNANGATTA @CROOKED
- 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.