
Rainbow trout
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.
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lowest lake of the Pieman scheme behind Reece Dam: brown trout in remote West Coast forest, with a Bureau gauge at the dam.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 742.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Lake Pieman is a cold-water proposition today: bait on the bottom and a long soak. The gauge reads 95.81 m, easing 0.23 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 14 °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.

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.

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.
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.
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:04), sunset (18:19), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
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.
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 742.1 (PIEMAN LAKE - AT DAM).
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 742.1. Latest reading 2026-09-23 00:00.
Latest readings
The best day on Lake Pieman 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.
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
The species that matter on Lake Pieman: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

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.

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.
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 8 °C (estimated, not a reading).
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.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 21 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
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.
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 11 km/h.
Tasmanian Inland Angling Licence, from A$29.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
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.
Fishing Lake Pieman takes the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
Lake Pieman is a lake in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Lake Pieman is the storage behind Reece Dam on the lower Pieman River, the lowest lake of the Pieman hydro scheme in the remote forest country west of Tullah, reached by the road that crosses the dam on the way to Corinna and the Tarkine coast. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Mackintosh, Lake Rosebery and Lake Murchison upstream have their own pages.
Brown trout are the fish of Lake Pieman, along the steep forested shores and the creek mouths, taken on lures, the fly and bait under the general lake rules. The lake 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.
The Reece Dam area and the road access points are the shore spots on Lake Pieman; a boat is the way to reach the long arms of the lake, which see few anglers. It is remote country, and a trip to Lake Pieman is usually combined with the Pieman River at Corinna or the Tarkine drive.
Lake Pieman is reached from Tullah on the road west toward Reece Dam and Corinna; there are no services between Tullah and Corinna, so carry fuel and food. A boat is needed for the long arms, and the Pieman River cruise at Corinna and the Tarkine coast make a longer trip of it.
The rain row matters most on the West Coast, and heavy rain lifts and colours the lake, which the chart shows through the hydro operation. The wind row matters on the open arms; the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool to cold. Pressure and sky build the score at Lake Pieman, and the planner shows the day.
Fishing Lake Pieman takes the Tasmanian inland angling licence 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.
Behind Reece Dam on the lower Pieman River, west of Tullah, on the road toward Corinna.
The general lake season, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
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.
Pablo Ruiz QuinteroReadings 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.