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.
South Esk River at Perth Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The South Esk at Perth: wild browns in the lowland river above Launceston, open in the Tasmanian season, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.17 m
Air / High
10 °C / 19 °C
Wind
NNW 6 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 is a cold-water proposition today: bait on the bottom and a long soak. The gauge reads 1.17 m, easing 0.13 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNW around 6 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 12 °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 (05:56), 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 181.1 (SOUTH ESK RIVER AT PERTH).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 181.1. Latest reading 2026-09-24 08:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp10 °C
High / Low19 °C / 10 °C
WindNNW 6 km/h, gusts 18 km/h
Pressure1022.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain95% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:56 / 18:10
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °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 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, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
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
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from 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. 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 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. The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
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 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 South Esk River at Perth 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 16 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 16 °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 15 °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
The Tasmanian inland angling licence applies from age 14, one rod or two; our Tasmania licence page has 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 as it winds through the farmland of the northern midlands under the old Perth bridge, past Longford and the Macquarie junction toward the Cataract Gorge and the Tamar, slow and deep with willows and gravel runs between the pools. It is wild brown trout water of the lowland kind, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Perth supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are wild and are the fishery, in the runs and the pools on bait, lures and the fly, with the mayfly hatches of spring on the lowland river a Tasmanian classic; and the river follows the brown trout season the Inland Fisheries Service publishes, first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, except that this whole lower section, from the Storys Creek Road bridge at Avoca down to Beams Hollow above Lake Trevallyn, is one of the service’s extended-season waters and stays open to the Sunday nearest 31 May, computed on the species card. Redfin are present in the slow water.
Where to fish it
The Perth bridge and the reserves give bank access, the Longford and Hadspen reaches are reached from the road crossings, and a drift boat or a kayak covers the pools between; the runs and the pool heads fish on the fly in the spring hatches. The Macquarie junction and the Cataract Gorge below are the other reaches.
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 river and a low summer river fishes at dawn. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool for most of the season; the open midlands let the wind cross the river; pressure and sky fill the score.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence applies from age 14, one rod or two; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The bridge, the reserves and the crossings are public; the Inland Fishing Code, with the season and the lower South Esk’s extended dates, is in the sources.
Common questions
When is the South Esk open?
From the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 31 May, because the South Esk below Avoca is one of the Inland Fisheries Service’s extended-season waters; the species card computes it with the rule linked.
Do I need a licence on the South Esk?
Yes, from age 14: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, one rod or two.
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
- 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.