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.
Esperance River at Dover Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Esperance River at Dover in the far south: brown trout in a forest river above the town, with a Bureau gauge at the intake.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.35 m
Air / High
11 °C / 19 °C
Wind
WNW 9 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 7200.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Esperance River at Dover has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 1.35 m, easing 0.09 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 19 °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 11 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. 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 Esperance River at Dover today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:56), sunset (18:11), 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 7200.1 (ESPERANCE RIVER AT DOVER WATER SUPPLY INTAKE).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 7200.1. Latest reading 2026-09-24 08:15.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low19 °C / 11 °C
WindWNW 9 km/h, gusts 22 km/h
Pressure1023.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain98% cloud, 98%
Sunrise / Sunset05:56 / 18:11
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Esperance River at Dover
The best day on Esperance River at Dover this week looks like Sunday 27 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: Sunday, 27 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
- 05:56 to 18:11
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 98%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Esperance River at Dover: 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 Esperance River at Dover 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 Esperance River at Dover 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 17 °C, wind to 13 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 13 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 14 °C, wind to 18 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 applies from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Esperance River at Dover is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Esperance River at Dover: the full guide
The Esperance at Dover
Dover is the far southern town on Port Esperance, south of Huonville, and the Esperance River runs out of the forest above it to the sea at the town; the gauge sits at Dover’s water supply intake upstream. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge there supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of the Esperance River, in the pools and runs on the fly, lures and bait. The general river rules apply: open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card, with a bag of five fish over 220 mm.
Where to fish it
The roads and forest tracks above Dover give access to the river; it is small, forested water fished with light gear.
Planning a visit
Dover has a store, a pub and accommodation, and the sea fishing of Port Esperance is next door. Bring light trout gear and wet-weather clothing.
The river through the year
The far south of Tasmania is wet and forested, and the Esperance drains the hills behind Dover as a small, often tea-coloured stream stained by the forest. Winter rain keeps it full from autumn to spring, and it falls away in the drier weeks of late summer. The trout season opens in August with the river usually high; the trout keep to the slower edges then, and a worm or a wet fly fished slowly is the way. From October the water warms and clears enough for the trout to rise, and the summer evenings are the best time. It is a small river with small wild fish, and a short rod and a quiet approach suit it. Dover itself is a fishing port on the bay, and the sea-run trout and the estuary below the town are a different fishery from the stream above.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Esperance rising after the heavy rain of the far south. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool for much of the season; pressure and sky build the score at Dover.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence applies from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The Inland Fishing Code is in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Esperance River open for trout?
From the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
What can I catch here?
Brown trout.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Esperance River at Dover 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 7200.1 — ESPERANCE RIVER AT DOVER WATER SUPPLY INTAKE
- 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.