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 River at Parknook Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Lake River at Parknook below Woods Lake: brown trout in the midlands river toward the Macquarie, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.69 m
Air / High
8 °C / 19 °C
Wind
S 2 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 175.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake River at Parknook is in its winter rhythm: deep, slow and around the middle of the day. The gauge reads 0.69 m, up 0.18 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 2 km/h, rising pressure near 1022 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 13 °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 River at Parknook today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:56), sunset (18:10), 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 175.1 (LAKE RIVER - AT PARKNOOK).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 175.1. Latest reading 2026-09-24 17:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp8 °C
High / Low19 °C / 8 °C
WindS 2 km/h, gusts 3 km/h
Pressure1022.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:56 / 18:10
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake River at Parknook
The best day on Lake River at Parknook 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
- 05:56 to 18:10
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 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 River at Parknook: 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 River at Parknook 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 River at Parknook 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 14 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 15 °C, wind to 16 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 11 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 from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Lake River at Parknook is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake River at Parknook: the full guide
The Lake River at Parknook
The Lake River runs from Woods Lake on the edge of the Central Plateau down through the northern midlands to the Macquarie near Cressy; Parknook is a gauging site on its middle reaches. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Parknook supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Woods Lake has its own page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of the Lake River, in the pools and runs on the fly, lures and bait. The Lake River is not listed separately in the Inland Fishing Code, so the general river rules apply: open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card; the extended season on the lower Macquarie does not extend up this river.
Where to fish it
The road crossings between the plateau and Cressy give access; most of the land is private grazing country.
Planning a visit
Cressy, near the junction with the Macquarie, has a pub, and Longford has more. Bring light trout gear.
The river through the year
The Lake River begins at Woods Lake, whose outflow is regulated, so the river below it can carry releases as well as rain; the chart shows both. From the plateau edge the river drops into the northern midlands, a dry, open country, and it runs best after winter and spring rain. The trout rise to the hatches on warm spring and summer evenings, and in a dry late summer the river runs low and the fish keep to the deeper pools. Below Parknook the river runs on toward Cressy and the Macquarie. The river is small and weedy through the midlands, and a careful approach to the pools pays off; the landholders’ permission is needed off the public road reserves.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Lake River’s flow, much of it released from Woods Lake for irrigation. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool in spring and autumn; pressure and sky build the score at Parknook.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence is needed from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The Inland Fishing Code is in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Lake River open for trout?
From the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
Does the Macquarie extended season apply here?
No; it covers the lower Macquarie, not the Lake River.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Lake River at Parknook 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 175.1 — LAKE RIVER - AT PARKNOOK
- 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.