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.
Tungatinah Lagoon Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Derwent scheme lagoon near Tarraleah that is open all year: wild browns and rainbows, a five-fish bag, with a Bureau gauge at the dam.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
648.76 m17,563 ML
Air / High
4 °C / 6 °C
Wind
SW 13 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 170.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Tungatinah Lagoon has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 648.76 m, holding steady. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SW around 13 km/h, steady pressure near 1032 hPa and a high of 7 °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 7 °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 Tungatinah Lagoon today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:57), sunset (18:14), 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 170.1 (TUNGATINAH LAGOONS - AT DAM).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 170.1. Latest reading 2026-09-25 17:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp4 °C
High / Low6 °C / 1 °C
WindSW 13 km/h, gusts 37 km/h
Pressure1032.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain27% cloud, 99%
Sunrise / Sunset05:57 / 18:14
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Tungatinah Lagoon
The best day on Tungatinah Lagoon 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
- 05:57 to 18:14
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 99%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Tungatinah Lagoon: 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 all year Tungatinah Lagoon is open all year 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 all year Tungatinah Lagoon is open all year 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 Tungatinah Lagoon 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 Tungatinah Lagoon 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 16 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Thu, 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 26 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 14 °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
Tungatinah Lagoon needs the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Tungatinah Lagoon is a lake in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Tungatinah Lagoon: the full guide
Tungatinah Lagoon
Tungatinah Lagoon is the hydro storage in the Derwent scheme near Tarraleah in the Central Highlands, linked by canals with Bradys Lake and Lake Binney along the Lyell Highway, a lagoon of drowned timber and rocky shores. 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 Tungatinah Lagoon, with rainbow trout also taken, along the timbered edges and the canal inflows on lures, the fly and bait. Tungatinah is one of the waters the Inland Fisheries Service lists as open all year, together with Bradys Lake and Lake Binney, so the species card reads open all year with the rule linked; the bag is five fish over 300 mm, with no more than two over 500 mm.
Where to fish it
The Lyell Highway and the hydro roads near Tarraleah reach the shore of Tungatinah Lagoon, and the canal inflows are the moving water where the trout feed. A small boat under Hydro Tasmania’s rules covers the timbered arms. The Code excludes the whitewater below the Lyell Highway gates on Bradys Lake from the all-year rule.
Planning a visit
Tungatinah Lagoon is off the Lyell Highway near Tarraleah, where the Tarraleah village has accommodation; Hamilton and New Norfolk are the nearest larger towns. Because it is open all year, Tungatinah, with Bradys Lake and Lake Binney, is a winter destination when most Tasmanian waters are closed; dress for snow.
Reading this report here
The highlands are cold and windy, and the wind row decides whether the open water is fishable; in winter, when most Tasmanian waters are closed, Tungatinah is one of the few places a trout angler can fish. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cold for much of the year. Pressure and sky build the score at Tungatinah Lagoon.
Licence, access and rules
Tungatinah Lagoon needs the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The Inland Fishing Code, with the all-year listing and the bag, is in the sources, and access is under Hydro Tasmania’s rules.
Common questions
Is Tungatinah Lagoon open in winter?
Yes. The Inland Fisheries Service lists Tungatinah Lagoon as open all year.
What is the bag at Tungatinah Lagoon?
Five fish over 300 mm, with no more than two over 500 mm.
Do I need a licence at Tungatinah Lagoon?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Tungatinah Lagoon 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 170.1 — TUNGATINAH LAGOONS - 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.