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.
Lake Gairdner Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Wilmot River storage of the Mersey-Forth scheme: brown trout in a quiet north-west lake below the Cradle Mountain country, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
463.51 m1,103 ML
Air / High
7 °C / 17 °C
Wind
SW 13 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 613.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Gairdner is in its winter rhythm: deep, slow and around the middle of the day. The gauge reads 463.51 m, easing 1.13 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 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 10 °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 Lake Gairdner today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:00), sunset (18:15), 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 613.1 (GAIRDNER LAKE - AT DAM).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 613.1. Latest reading 2026-09-23 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp7 °C
High / Low17 °C / 6 °C
WindSW 13 km/h, gusts 28 km/h
Pressure1023.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain98% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset06:00 / 18:15
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Gairdner
The best day on Lake Gairdner 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
- 06:00 to 18:15
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Gairdner: 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 Lake Gairdner 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 Lake Gairdner 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 16 °C, wind to 11 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 13 °C, wind to 10 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 13 °C, wind to 16 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
Lake Gairdner is a lake in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Gairdner: the full guide
Lake Gairdner
Lake Gairdner is the storage on the Wilmot River in the Mersey-Forth hydro scheme, in the hill country of the north-west between Wilmot and the Cradle Mountain road, a quiet, timbered lake whose water is diverted through to the Forth. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Cethana and Lake Paloona on the Forth have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of Lake Gairdner, holding along the edges and at the creek mouths and taken on lures, the fly and bait under the general lake rules. Gairdner is not listed separately in the Inland Fishing Code, so it follows the general lake season, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card.
Where to fish it
The dam and the road access points are the shore spots on Lake Gairdner, casting along the timbered edges, and a small boat or a kayak covers the lake where Hydro Tasmania allows it. The creek inflows fish best after rain. The shallower bays warm first in spring and hold cruising browns, and the steeper edges near the dam are trolled with small lures through the summer.
Planning a visit
Lake Gairdner is reached from the roads south of Wilmot, between Sheffield and the Cradle Mountain road, and Sheffield and Devonport have supplies. Bring a kayak or small boat and trolling gear; the north-west is wet, so waterproof clothing is part of the kit.
Reading this report here
The north-west is wet, and the rain row matters at Gairdner because the creeks colour the water and lift the level, which the chart shows. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool through the season; pressure and sky build the score at Lake Gairdner, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence applies from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. Access is under Hydro Tasmania’s rules, and the Inland Fishing Code, with the general lake rules and the season, is in the sources.
Common questions
What season applies at Lake Gairdner?
The general lake season, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
What river is Lake Gairdner on?
The Wilmot River, in the Mersey-Forth hydro scheme.
Do I need a licence at Lake Gairdner?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Lake Gairdner 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 613.1 — GAIRDNER LAKE - AT DAM
- 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.