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 Repulse Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
A Derwent River hydro lake near Ouse: brown trout between Catagunya and Cluny, with a Bureau gauge at the dam.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
124.48 m3,473 ML
Air / High
11 °C / 20 °C
Wind
W 11 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 580.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Repulse has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 124.48 m, easing 0.18 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 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 Lake Repulse today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:58), sunset (18:13), 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 580.1 (REPULSE LAKE - AT DAM).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 580.1. Latest reading 2026-09-23 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low20 °C / 11 °C
WindW 11 km/h, gusts 28 km/h
Pressure1023.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 98%
Sunrise / Sunset05:58 / 18:13
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Repulse
The best day on Lake Repulse 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
- 05:58 to 18:13
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 98%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Repulse: 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 Repulse 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 Repulse 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 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 17 °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 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
Anglers at Lake Repulse need the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Lake Repulse is a lake in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Repulse: the full guide
Lake Repulse
Lake Repulse is one of the Derwent River hydro storages above Ouse in the Central Highlands, between Lake Catagunya upstream and Cluny Lagoon downstream, a river lake of steep, dry, timbered banks reached from the Lyell Highway country around Ouse. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of Lake Repulse, along the edges and at the inflow, 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, with a bag of 12 fish over 300 mm.
Where to fish it
The dam and the hydro access roads are the shore spots on Lake Repulse, and a small boat or a kayak covers the long river lake, trolling the drop-offs and casting at the inflow. It is a quiet water compared with Meadowbank downstream. The shallower bays near the inflow warm first in spring, and the steep, rocky edges further down the lake hold trout that can be trolled or cast to with small lures.
Planning a visit
Lake Repulse is reached from the roads north of Ouse on the Lyell Highway; Ouse has a roadhouse and a pub, and Hamilton and New Norfolk are the nearest larger towns. Pair it with Catagunya upstream and Cluny and Meadowbank downstream for a day on the Derwent chain.
Reading this report here
Repulse follows the releases down the Derwent chain, which the chart shows, and the valley shelters it from the plateau winds. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool through the season; pressure and sky build the score at Lake Repulse, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Anglers at Lake Repulse need 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 is in the sources.
Common questions
What season applies at Lake Repulse?
The general lake season, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
Where is Lake Repulse?
On the Derwent River above Ouse, between Lake Catagunya and Cluny Lagoon.
Do I need a licence at Lake Repulse?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Lake Repulse 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 580.1 — REPULSE 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.