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.
Arthur River below the Rapid River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Arthur River below the Rapid in the takayna / Tarkine: blackfish and browns in remote rainforest, with no current Bureau level series.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~8 °C est.
Air / High
10 °C / 17 °C
Wind
SW 10 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Arthur River below the Rapid River is a cold-water proposition today: bait on the bottom and a long soak. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 17 °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 13 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Tasmania requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$29.00. Tasmania fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with IFS Tasmania before you keep anything; the Rainbow trout page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Arthur River below the Rapid River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:04), sunset (18:19), 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
Conditions here are modelled from weather, season and the nearest stations.
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Bureau of Meteorology station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp10 °C
High / Low17 °C / 10 °C
WindSW 10 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1025.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset06:04 / 18:19
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Arthur River below the Rapid River
The best day on Arthur River below the Rapid River this week looks like Saturday 26 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: Saturday, 26 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
- 06:04 to 18:19
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Arthur River below the Rapid 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 3 May 2027. Most waters open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April; designated rainbow trout waters run from the Saturday nearest 1 October to the Sunday nearest 31 May. Rule as read from Inland Fisheries Service Tasmania 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 3 May 2027. Most waters open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April; designated rainbow trout waters run from the Saturday nearest 1 October to the Sunday nearest 31 May. Rule as read from Inland Fisheries Service Tasmania 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 Arthur River below the Rapid 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 Arthur River below the Rapid 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 18 °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 16 °C, wind to 8 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 15 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Tasmanian Inland Angling Licence, from A$29.00, 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 IFS Tasmania and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Tasmania licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The Tasmanian inland angling licence is needed on the Arthur from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Arthur River below the Rapid River is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Arthur River below the Rapid River: the full guide
The Arthur below the Rapid
The Arthur River runs through the rainforest of the takayna / Tarkine in Tasmania’s far north-west to the wild coast at Arthur River; the gauging site below the Rapid River junction sits deep in the forest on the middle river, reached by the Tarkine Drive and the forest roads. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge there has not reported recent readings to Water Data Online, so this page carries no level chart.
Species and seasons
River blackfish and brown trout are the fish of the middle Arthur, the blackfish in the snags and the dark pools at dusk, the trout in the runs, on lures, bait and the fly. The Arthur is not listed separately in the Inland Fishing Code, so it follows the general river rules, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card; the Code’s rules for waters in reserves apply where the river runs through them.
Where to fish it
The bridges and forest-road crossings of the Tarkine give access to the Arthur, and the river is walked from them. It is remote, wet country with no services, so a trip needs planning and a good forecast.
Planning a visit
The middle Arthur is reached by the Tarkine Drive and the forest roads from Smithton, Arthur River township and Waratah, with no services in between. Carry fuel, food, water and wet-weather gear, bring a bait rod for blackfish and light trout gear, and tell someone your plan.
Reading this report here
Without a current level series, the rain row is the number to read: the Tarkine gets heavy rain and the Arthur rises fast. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool for most of the season; pressure and sky build the score on the Arthur.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence is needed on the Arthur from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The general river rules are in the Inland Fishing Code, and the reserve rules along the Tarkine Drive are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Arthur River?
River blackfish and brown trout.
Why is there no level chart?
The Bureau’s gauge below the Rapid River has not reported recent readings to Water Data Online.
Do I need a licence on the Arthur?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Arthur River below the Rapid River 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
- 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.