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 Trevallyn Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Launceston’s lake on the South Esk above Cataract Gorge: brown trout minutes from the city, with a Bureau gauge at the dam.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
125.30 m6,848 ML
Air / High
10 °C / 13 °C
Wind
SE 10 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 158.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Trevallyn is in its winter rhythm: deep, slow and around the middle of the day. The gauge reads 125.30 m, up 0.29 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 13 °C. Water sits around 8 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: 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: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Similar at 14 °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 Trevallyn today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:54), sunset (18:11), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 158.1 (TREVALLYN LAKE - AT DAM).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 158.1. Latest reading 2026-09-25 17:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp10 °C
High / Low13 °C / 5 °C
WindSE 10 km/h, gusts 22 km/h
Pressure1024.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 9%
Sunrise / Sunset05:54 / 18:11
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Trevallyn
The best day on Lake Trevallyn 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, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:54 to 18:11
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 9%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Trevallyn: 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 Trevallyn 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 Trevallyn today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
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 19 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
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 19 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
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 13 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
Fishing Lake Trevallyn needs the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Lake Trevallyn is a lake in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Trevallyn: the full guide
Lake Trevallyn
Lake Trevallyn is the storage on the South Esk River behind Trevallyn Dam on the edge of Launceston, above the Cataract Gorge, a long, narrow river lake between the reserve of the Trevallyn State Recreation Area and farmland, minutes from the city. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page. The South Esk at Perth, upstream, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of Lake Trevallyn, along the edges, the drop-offs and the upstream reaches, 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 extended South Esk season stops at Beams Hollow, upstream of the lake.
Where to fish it
The Trevallyn State Recreation Area gives bank access along the lake’s eastern shore, and a kayak or a small boat under the rules for the lake covers the narrow river reaches upstream. The upper end, where the South Esk comes in, is the moving water.
Planning a visit
Lake Trevallyn is on the edge of Launceston, so tackle, supplies and accommodation are minutes away; the Trevallyn State Recreation Area has parking, picnic areas and walking tracks along the shore. It suits a morning or evening session, and the Cataract Gorge below the dam is one of the city’s sights.
Reading this report here
Trevallyn is a sheltered river lake and its level follows the hydro operation and the South Esk’s flows, which the chart shows; after heavy rain in the midlands the lake colours. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool through the season. Pressure and sky build the score at Lake Trevallyn.
Licence, access and rules
Fishing Lake Trevallyn needs the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The recreation area has its own rules, and the Inland Fishing Code is in the sources.
Common questions
What season applies at Lake Trevallyn?
The general lake season, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April; the South Esk’s extended season ends upstream of the lake.
Where can I fish Lake Trevallyn from the bank?
From the Trevallyn State Recreation Area on the Launceston side.
Do I need a licence at Lake Trevallyn?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Lake Trevallyn 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 158.1 — TREVALLYN 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.