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 Paloona Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lowest lake of the Mersey-Forth scheme, inland from Devonport: brown and rainbow trout close to town, with a Bureau gauge at the dam.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
50.83 m2,582 ML
Air / High
8 °C / 19 °C
Wind
WSW 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 627.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Paloona is in its winter rhythm: deep, slow and around the middle of the day. The gauge reads 50.83 m, easing 0.67 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 6 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 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 Lake Paloona today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:00), sunset (18:14), 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 627.1 (PALOONA LAKE - AT DAM).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 627.1. Latest reading 2026-09-23 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp8 °C
High / Low19 °C / 8 °C
WindWSW 6 km/h, gusts 11 km/h
Pressure1023.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain98% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset06:00 / 18:14
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Paloona
The best day on Lake Paloona 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 18:14
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 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 Lake Paloona: 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 Paloona 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 Paloona 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 10 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 14 °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 16 °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
Anglers at Lake Paloona need the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Lake Paloona is a lake in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Paloona: the full guide
Lake Paloona
Lake Paloona is the lowest storage of the Mersey-Forth hydro scheme, on the Forth River inland from Devonport and Ulverstone near the settlement of Paloona, a long, narrow river lake between farmland and forest that is the easiest of the scheme’s lakes to reach from the coast. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Cethana upstream and Devonport have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the main fish of Lake Paloona, and rainbow trout are also caught, along the edges, at the inflows and on the drop-offs, on lures, the fly and bait under the general lake rules. Paloona 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, with the general bag of 12 fish over 300 mm.
Where to fish it
The dam area and the reserves where the roads meet Lake Paloona give bank access, and a small boat or a kayak under Hydro Tasmania’s rules covers the long river lake, trolling and casting along the steep banks. The upstream end, where the Forth enters from Cethana, is the moving water.
Planning a visit
Lake Paloona is a short drive inland from Devonport, Ulverstone and Latrobe, which have tackle, supplies and accommodation, so it suits an after-work or half-day trip. A kayak or small boat covers the long lake; the rest of the Mersey-Forth chain is upstream.
Reading this report here
Paloona follows the releases from Cethana upstream, which the chart shows; the lake is a sheltered river valley, so the wind row matters less than the rain row, which colours the Forth after heavy falls. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool through the season. Pressure and sky build the score at Lake Paloona.
Licence, access and rules
Anglers at Lake Paloona need the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. Access and boating are 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 Paloona?
The general lake season, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
How far is Lake Paloona from Devonport?
It is inland on the Forth River, a short drive south of Devonport and Ulverstone, the closest of the Mersey-Forth lakes to the coast.
Do I need a licence at Lake Paloona?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Lake Paloona 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 627.1 — PALOONA 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.