Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Arthur River below the Rapid River Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Arthur River below the Rapid in the takayna / Tarkine: brown trout and river blackfish in tannin-stained rainforest water, with no current Bureau level series.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~13 °C est.
Air / High
10 °C / 16 °C
Wind
ENE 13 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Arthur River below the Rapid River has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ENE around 13 km/h, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 16 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:55 AM-1:55 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.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:26 PM-1:26 AM, 11:55 AM-1:55 PM, 4:57 AM-5:57 AM. Similar at 18 °C with a rain chance. 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 (05:58), sunset (20:10), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:55 AM-1:55 PM; minor 4:57 AM-5:57 AM. New Moon, 0% 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 / Low16 °C / 5 °C
WindENE 13 km/h, gusts 26 km/h
Pressure1019.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain54% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset05:58 / 20:10
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °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 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
- 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:55 AM-1:55 PM
- Minor period
- 4:57 AM-5:57 AM
- Sun
- 05:58 to 20:10
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 6%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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
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 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. 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 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. Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
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 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 Arthur River below the Rapid River 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 18 °C, wind to 14 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 12 °C, wind to 27 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 13 °C, wind to 19 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 drains the rainforest of the takayna / Tarkine in Tasmania’s far north-west and reaches the Southern Ocean at the township of Arthur River; the gauging site below the Rapid River junction is on the middle river, deep in the forest. Like most west coast rivers it runs tannin-stained between thick vegetation. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge there, station 159.1, has not reported recent readings to Water Data Online, so this page carries no level chart.
Species and seasons
The Inland Fisheries Service describes the Arthur as known for large resident and sea-run brown trout, and river blackfish live in it too, with a 220 mm minimum and a bag of twelve a day. Trout follow the brown trout water season, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card, with a 220 mm minimum and a bag of five. Estuary perch, which in Tasmania occur only in the Arthur, are protected and must be released at once, and the giant freshwater lobster is wholly protected.
Where to fish it
The IFS notes that shore fishing is limited mostly to the mouth near the main road bridge and that a boat gives far better access, which says much about the middle river: dense forest, steep banks and few tracks. Where you can reach the water, fish the dark pools for blackfish with worms at dusk and the runs for trout with lures or flies; fly and lure fishing for trout is most popular from September to December.
Planning a visit
The middle Arthur is remote country with no services between Smithton, Arthur River township and Waratah. Carry fuel, food, water and wet-weather gear and tell someone your route. Parks and Wildlife requires an Arthur-Pieman Recreational Driver Pass for vehicle tracks off the main roads in the conservation area.
Reading this report here
Without a current level series, read the rain row: the takayna / Tarkine takes heavy rain off the Southern Ocean, and the Arthur rises fast and darkens further after it. 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 IFS water entry, with the estuary perch protection, and the Parks and Wildlife page for the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Arthur River?
Brown trout, resident and sea-run, and river blackfish; estuary perch are protected and must be released.
Why does the Arthur page have no level chart?
The Bureau’s gauge below the Rapid River, station 159.1, has not reported recent readings to Water Data Online.
Do I need a licence on the Arthur?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, needed 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
- 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.