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.
Great Forester River at Prosperity Road Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Great Forester in the north-east: brown trout and sea-run fish in the river that meets the sea near Bridport, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.72 m
Air / High
9 °C / 16 °C
Wind
ESE 3 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 19224.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Great Forester River at Prosperity Road is in its winter rhythm: deep, slow and around the middle of the day. The gauge reads 0.72 m, easing 0.06 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind ESE around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 16 °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. Similar at 15 °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 Great Forester River at Prosperity Road today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:54), sunset (18:09), 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 19224.1 (GREAT FORESTER RIVER AT PROSPERITY ROAD).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 19224.1. Latest reading 2026-09-24 08:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp9 °C
High / Low16 °C / 9 °C
WindESE 3 km/h, gusts 5 km/h
Pressure1023.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 75%
Sunrise / Sunset05:54 / 18:09
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Great Forester River at Prosperity Road
The best day on Great Forester River at Prosperity Road 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
- 05:54 to 18:09
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 75%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Great Forester River at Prosperity Road: 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 Great Forester River at Prosperity Road 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 Great Forester River at Prosperity Road 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 19 °C, wind to 8 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 16 °C, wind to 13 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 here from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Great Forester River at Prosperity Road is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Great Forester River at Prosperity Road: the full guide
The Great Forester at Prosperity Road
The Great Forester River runs from the forests of the north-east down through farmland to Anderson Bay near Bridport, and Prosperity Road is a crossing on its middle reaches south of the coast. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Prosperity Road supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Bridport has its own page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of the Great Forester, with sea-run fish moving up from the estuary in spring, on the fly, lures and bait. The river follows the general river rules, open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April and computed on the species card, and it is one of the rivers the Code opens to whitebait fishing for a short spring season.
Where to fish it
The road crossings between Scottsdale and Bridport give access to the river, and anglers walk the banks between them.
Planning a visit
Bridport and Scottsdale have supplies and accommodation. Bring light trout gear, and check the whitebait season if you plan to fish the lower river in spring.
The river through the year
The Great Forester runs full through the north-eastern winter and rises after heavy rain. In spring, sea-run trout follow the whitebait up from the estuary, and from October the resident trout rise in the runs as the water warms. Summer brings lower, clearer water and the best dry-fly fishing on still evenings. The lower river toward Bridport is estuary water with its own fishery of bream and sea-run trout, and the middle river around Prosperity Road is farmland and forest, with access from the road crossings.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Great Forester rising after rain in the north-east. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool for much of the season; pressure and sky build the score on the Great Forester.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence is needed here from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The general river rules and the whitebait rules are in the Inland Fishing Code in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Great Forester open for trout?
From the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
Are there sea-run trout here?
Yes, they move up from the estuary in spring.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Great Forester River at Prosperity Road 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 19224.1 — GREAT FORESTER RIVER AT PROSPERITY ROAD
- 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.