Imagery: Esri

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Waters

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Fly fishing Tasmania's Central Highlands

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Arthurs Lake

Stillwater

64.2 km²

Water area

Species recorded

Ways in

Stocking records

Plan a first fly-fishing trip to Arthurs Lake, from Cowpaddock Bay mayfly fishing to boat-based wet flies, current rules and boat launch choices.

Arthurs Lake is a dependable brown-trout fishery for bank and boat. Angler surveys show a catch rate that has held stable for two decades.

The storage flooded two natural lakes and a marsh. Bays, drowned timber and a changing shoreline break the water into smaller fishing decisions.

For the easiest bank plan, start around Cowpaddock Bay during the November-to-February mayfly period. Look for rising browns before casting; the current season allows flies, lures and bait.

From a boat, search outside the Morass timber with a small wet or streamer. Finish each drift in open water and leave before the wind removes a controlled return.

On a bright, calm day, a good bet is cruising trout in the shallows. Use a nymph or emerger under the film, then change to a visible dry once the rise settles.

Check the IFS listing, lake level and plateau forecast before you leave.

Fish in this water

Each fish is rated by its strongest evidence. A rating says how sure we are a fish is here, not how many there are, whether it is worth fishing for or whether you may keep it.

Confirmed

Recorded on this water in the last 15 years, or named for it by a fishery agency, its fishing rules or a fishing publication.

Brown Trout

Named by a fishing publication

No live gauge

No gauge readings are available for this water.

Season

Regulations

Driving directions

Water and habitat

Arthurs Lake was formed by damming the upper Lake River. The new storage covered Blue Lake, Sand Lake and the Morass Marsh, leaving bays and drowned timber that still shape the fishing.

Water is pumped into Yingina / Great Lake for hydro-electric generation at Poatina. As on any hydro storage, the level can move between visits, so do not treat last trip’s route as a depth guide.

The Morass timber gives trout cover and gives you a clear edge to search. Elsewhere, read the points, bays and wind before committing to a long drift. A sheltered launch can still lead to rough open water.

Fish and forage

Brown trout are the only trout recorded here, and that has held since the 1960s.

The fishery is stable. A long-running angler survey averages two fish per angler per day, though that is context rather than a promise for a particular session.

The clearest fly-fishing event is the Cowpaddock Bay mayfly period from November to February. The lake is also popular with boat-based anglers. Carry a dry-fly box and a small set of searching wets.

Observation history

Stocking history

Occurrence records do not establish present abundance or angling suitability. Counts are records, not fish. Environmental DNA indicates a detection in water, not a captured fish.

These records fall inside the mapped waterbody or within 250 m of a mapped waterway. Records with stated positional uncertainty above 1 km were excluded; some included locations have unstated uncertainty.

Brown Trout

Salmo trutta

1986–1991 · 2 records · Arthurs Lake

Unstated or other method (2)

Data: Tasmanian Natural Values Atlas (CC-BY 3.0 (Au))

Atlas of Living Australia ↗

Southern Shortfin Eel

Anguilla australis

2002 · 1 record · Arthurs Lake

Unstated or other method (1)

Data: Tasmanian Natural Values Atlas (CC-BY 3.0 (Au))

Atlas of Living Australia ↗

Arthurs Paragalaxias

Paragalaxias mesotes

1976–2002 · 49 records · Arthurs Lake

Other electrofishing (1) · Unstated or other method (48)

Data: Australian Museum provider for OZCAM (CC-BY 3.0 (Au)); South Australian Museum Adelaide provider for OZCAM (CC-BY); Tasmanian Natural Values Atlas (CC-BY 3.0 (Au))

Atlas of Living Australia ↗

Saddled Galaxias

Galaxias tanycephalus

1976–2002 · 62 records · Arthurs Lake

Other electrofishing (2) · Unstated or other method (60)

Data: Australian Museum provider for OZCAM (CC-BY 3.0 (Au)); South Australian Museum Adelaide provider for OZCAM (CC-BY); Tasmanian Natural Values Atlas (CC-BY 3.0 (Au))

Atlas of Living Australia ↗

When to fish it

Early in the season, our preference is to start with a wet or streamer and cover water near shore. Search outside drowned timber and along the first useful depth change. In our experience, low light can bring fish close enough that wading straight in costs you the first chance.

From November through February, Cowpaddock Bay is the authority’s named mayfly option. Wait long enough to see whether trout are taking nymphs, emergers or full duns before changing flies.

Bright, calm weather is usually the better sight-fishing window, in our experience. Wind or poor light shifts the advantage back to a searching wet, but it also narrows the margin for a safe boat return.

THE YEAR ON THIS WATER

Search the margins

Fly · Aug–Nov

Begin close to shore with a small wet or streamer, then work out towards drowned timber if the edge stays quiet.

Cowpaddock mayfly

Food · Nov–Feb

Watch for duns and rising browns around Cowpaddock Bay before choosing between a nymph, emerger and upright dry.

Dry-fly window

Fly · Nov–Feb

Fish an emerger while trout bulge under the film, then change to a visible dun pattern once the rise settles.

Boat-based wets

Fly · Aug–May

Set a controlled drift over open water or outside the timber, with a safe route back to the ramp in the forecast wind.

How to fish it

For a bank session, use a five or six weight with a floating line and begin by looking along the edge. A size 12 to 16 nymph or emerger covers the early rise. Change to a visible upright dry when trout take insects from the surface with a repeatable rhythm.

Keep the first cast ahead of the fish and let it close the distance. If a trout refuses twice, rest it or change the angle before reaching for another pattern.

From a boat, set the drift to finish in open water. Fish a small streamer or a team of wets outside the Morass timber and vary the pause. Move after two clean drifts without a take or follow.

Carry forceps and a soft net. Wet your hands, support the fish in the water and release it once it can hold itself upright. Check, clean and dry boots, waders, boat and trailer before the next water.

Access and safety

Reach Arthurs Lake from the B51 via Poatina in the north or from the A5 to the south. There are four launching areas: Jonah Bay, Pumphouse Bay, Arthurs Dam and the western end of Morass Bay at Yangeena.

The formal campgrounds are at Pumphouse Bay and Jonah Bay, and fees apply. Check signs and ramp conditions when you arrive; an exposed track or shoreline is not permission to drive or camp.

The lake can become rough with little warning. Wear a fitted life jacket, keep enough daylight and fuel for an early return, and come ashore when whitecaps begin building.

As on any hydro storage, watch for rocks and drowned timber near the surface when the level is down. The five-knot limit applies north of the transmission lines across Cowpaddock Bay. Keep outside the navigation exclusion areas around the dam, Pump House and spillway, and slow down whenever propeller wash turns brown.

Ways in

Where roads, tracks and paths reach the water, from mapped roads. Not a right of entry: check gates, land tenure and closures.

Gunns Marsh Road

Drive-up

Track off Gunns Marsh Road

0.13 km · Unsealed · off Gunns Marsh Road

Track off Arthurs Lake Road

0.15 km · Unsealed · off Arthurs Lake Road

Flintstone Drive

0.17 km · Unsealed · off Slate Court

Larner Parade

0.2 km · Unsealed · off Jenkins Court

Track off Tea Tree Bay Road

0.21 km · Not recorded · off Tea Tree Bay Road

See them on the map

Regulations

The current 2026–27 IFS listing permits bait, lures and flies at Arthurs Lake. It gives a season from 1 August 2026 to 2 May 2027, so this is not an all-year fishery.

Every water flowing into Arthurs Lake is closed to fishing. The closure also covers the lake within 50 metres of each inflow.

Read the IFS Arthurs Lake listing before fishing. Check the Tasmanian Inland Fishing Code too. Confirm the current size and bag limits, licence position and any temporary notice.

Permitted with conditions

TAS

The default rule for Tasmanian lake fisheries, including Arthurs Lake, Lake Echo, Laughing Jack Lagoon, Pine Tier Lagoon and Wayatinah Lagoon, is a daily bag limit of 12 fish, a minimum size limit of 300mm, open to all fishing methods, for a season of 1 August 2026 to 2 May 2027, unless the specific water is within the TWWHA or a National Park or is separately listed in the river and lake fishery exceptions table.

Tasmanian Government (Inland Fisheries Service), under the Inland Fisheries Act 1995 and Inland Fisheries Regulations 2019

Read the rule at source ↗

Prohibited

TAS

Every water flowing into Arthurs Lake, and the lake within a 50 m radius of where each one enters, is closed to fishing at all times.

Tasmanian Government (Inland Fisheries Service), under the Inland Fisheries Act 1995 and Inland Fisheries Regulations 2019

Read the rule at source ↗

Access restricted

TAS

A five-knot speed limit applies north of the transmission lines across Cowpaddock Bay. Navigation is prohibited within 30 metres of Arthurs Lake Dam and the Pump House and within 50 metres of the Arthurs Lake Spillway.

Tasmanian Government (Inland Fisheries Service), under the Inland Fisheries Act 1995 and Inland Fisheries Regulations 2019

Read the rule at source ↗