Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
South Esk River at Perth Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The South Esk at Perth: wild browns in the lowland river above Launceston, in the extended-season section open to late May, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.07 m
Air / High
10 °C / 18 °C
Wind
NW 14 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 181.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
South Esk River at Perth has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 1.07 m, easing 0.06 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NW around 14 km/h, steady pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 18 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:18 PM-1:18 AM and 11:46 AM-1:46 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Excellent
Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:18 PM-1:18 AM, 11:46 AM-1:46 PM, 4:47 AM-5:47 AM. Similar at 19 °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 South Esk River at Perth today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:48), sunset (20:02), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:18 PM-1:18 AM and 11:46 AM-1:46 PM; minor 4:47 AM-5:47 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 181.1 (SOUTH ESK RIVER AT PERTH).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 181.1. Latest reading 2026-11-08 08:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp10 °C
High / Low18 °C / 5 °C
WindNW 14 km/h, gusts 30 km/h
Pressure1020.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain97% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:48 / 20:02
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish South Esk River at Perth
The best day on South Esk River at Perth this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:18 PM-1:18 AM and 11:46 AM-1:46 PM
- Minor period
- 4:47 AM-5:47 AM
- Sun
- 05:48 to 20:02
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on South Esk River at Perth: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open now Closes 31 May 2027. The South Esk from the Storys Creek Road bridge at Avoca to Beams Hollow, the lower Macquarie, Meander and Brumbys Creek and lakes Mackintosh and Rosebery open with most waters on the first Saturday of August and close with the rainbow waters on the Sunday nearest 31 May. Rule as read from Inland Fisheries Service Tasmania on 2026-09-24.
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. Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Brown trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open now Closes 31 May 2027. The South Esk from the Storys Creek Road bridge at Avoca to Beams Hollow, the lower Macquarie, Meander and Brumbys Creek and lakes Mackintosh and Rosebery open with most waters on the first Saturday of August and close with the rainbow waters on the Sunday nearest 31 May. Rule as read from Inland Fisheries Service Tasmania on 2026-09-24.
The wild trout of the highland rivers and Tasmania's lakes. Spawns in autumn, hence the closed rivers through winter in NSW and Victoria. Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
When to come: the South Esk River at Perth 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 13 °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 South Esk River at Perth today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 27 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
A Tasmanian inland angling licence, for one rod or two, is required from age 14; our Tasmania licence page lists the fees.
About this water
South Esk River at Perth is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing South Esk River at Perth: the full guide
The reach
The South Esk at Perth is the lowland river south of Launceston, winding through farmland of the northern midlands past Longford and Hadspen toward the Tamar. The Inland Fisheries Service calls the South Esk the longest river in Tasmania, some 200 km from Upper Esk to Launceston, and a renowned trout fishery. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Perth, station 181.1, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout dominate, managed by the IFS as a wild fishery, with the occasional rainbow further upstream. The IFS lists red spinner, mayfly and caenid hatches in spring and summer and grasshopper and black spinner in autumn. This reach lies in the extended-season section from the Storys Creek Road bridge at Avoca to Beams Hollow above Lake Trevallyn, open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 31 May, as the species card computes.
Where to fish it
The IFS points shore and wading anglers to the water upstream of Evandale Bridge off Perth Mill Road, up and downstream of Perth Bridge, the Mill Dam at Longford and Lions Park at Hadspen. Canoes and kayaks can be launched at Clarendon, the Perth Riverbank Reserve, Longford’s Union Street ramp and Hadspen. The IFS warns that parts of the river call for experienced paddlers.
Reading the report
The chart shows a lowland river that rises after rain in the midlands and falls slowly through summer; a fresh colours the water, and a low summer river fishes best early. The IFS notes that flow data at Perth and Longford help plan a trip. The modelled water temperature is an estimate, cool for most of the season.
Licence, access and rules
A Tasmanian inland angling licence, for one rod or two, is required from age 14; our Tasmania licence page lists the fees. The IFS lists redfin perch, goldfish and tench as pests here and asks anglers to kill any caught. Boats may not fish within 100 m of a shore angler unless securely moored.
Common questions
When is the South Esk at Perth open?
From the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 31 May, because the South Esk below the Storys Creek Road bridge at Avoca is an extended-season water; the species card computes it.
Where can I launch a kayak on the lower South Esk?
The IFS lists Clarendon, the Perth Riverbank Reserve, Longford’s Union Street ramp and Hadspen.
Is fishing good at South Esk River at Perth 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 181.1 — SOUTH ESK RIVER AT PERTH
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- 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.