Fishing Arthurs Lake: wild brown trout, the mayfly hatch, and the plan to catch them

What and where it is

Arthurs Lake sits high in Tasmania's Central Highlands, about 950 m above sea level and roughly 6,400 ha of water. It is a shallow-to-mid-depth lake of weed beds, flooded grassy margins and rocky shores, fed by cold alpine creeks. The one thing to know: its brown trout are wild and self-sustaining, so the fishing is natural, not stocked.

The lake is a Hydro-managed water on the Central Plateau, between Great Lake to the west and the Lake Country lodges around Miena. Because the level is managed, the margins flood and drop back through the year, and those flooded grassy edges are the heart of the fishing: when the water rises over the grass, trout move in to feed on drowned worms, frogs, beetles and tadpoles within a rod-length of the bank. Over the rest of the lake it is weed beds, rocky points and, in the Morass, a maze of sunken timber and dead trees that boat anglers work.

It is cool, exposed alpine water. Arthurs is open to wind from every direction and can get rough fast, so it is a lake to watch the weather on, especially in a small boat (Inland Fisheries Service, Arthurs Lake page, as of 5 June 2026). In low-water years it becomes very shallow with submerged hazards, which is part of why local knowledge and a careful eye on the level pay off here.

What makes Arthurs special is consistency. It holds a strong, self-sustaining population of wild brown trout that spawn naturally in the many creeks running into the lake, so it fishes well year after year without stocking. The average fish runs roughly 400 g to 1 kg, and a fair day is around a couple of fish per angler, with better days to good hatches (Inland Fisheries Service, Arthurs Lake page, as of 5 June 2026). It is numbers-and-quality wild trout fishing, not a trophy lottery.

The fish, and where, when and how to catch each

One fish runs this lake: the wild brown trout. It is the only trout here, self-sustaining and naturally bred, and it feeds in the flooded grassy bays early, over the weed in the mayfly hatch, and along the rocky margins late. It holds at different places through the year and wants a different fly each time. The card below gives you where, when and how.

The protected natives, for context (do not target). Arthurs Lake is also home to two endangered native fish, the saddled galaxias and the Arthurs paragalaxias, which are fully protected. You do not fish for them, and you must not take them. They are part of why the lake is managed as carefully as it is, and a reason to keep your kit clean between waters so you carry nothing in. There are no other angling species: brown trout is the whole fishery.

I have set the fish out as a card. Read it, then check the seasonal section for how the trout's mood and water move through the year, and follow the rig links to build the method.

How the fishing changes by season

The season runs roughly early August to early May. Early on (August to November) trout push into the flooded grassy bays to feed, best on a wet fly. The mayfly hatch (November to February) is the dry-fly highlight over the weed. Late season (March to April) fishes well along the margins again. It is shut the rest of the year.

Here is the year in plain terms, tied to where the trout feed.

• Closed (early May to early August). No trout fishing on the lake (the 2025-26 season closes 3 May 2026 and the next opens in early August). The Central Highlands are cold and quiet. Plan inside the open dates, not around them; the Jonah Bay campground also shuts over winter.
• The opening, flooded margins (August to October). Cold, rising water pushes trout into the flooded grassy bays to feed on drowned worms, frogs and beetles. This is the wet-fly and small-streamer time: search the margins and the weed with a slow fly, look for tailing fish in the grass, and fish loch-style from a drifting boat over the weed beds. A reliable, fish-y opening.
• Late spring into the hatch (November). The water settles and warms a little, the weed comes on, and the first mayfly hatches start. The fishing shifts toward the surface and toward sight-fishing on the calm, bright days.
• The mayfly hatch (November to February). The highlight. On a still, warm day the lake's mayfly (the famous Highland duns) hatch over the weed and the trout rise to them. Cowpaddock Bay is the noted shore spot for it. A dun or spinner imitation to a rising fish is the classic Arthurs game; a nymph fishes the gaps between rises. The wind is the variable: a flat calm makes the hatch, a blow scatters it.
• Late season (March to April). As the water cools the trout feed up before the close, back along the margins, the weed edges and the rocky shores. Good wet-fly, nymph and late-hatch fishing, and a quieter lake than high summer. The season ends in early May.

What you can eat (and what you must release)

Wild brown trout from Arthurs are good eating, and you may keep them within the Inland Fisheries Service limits: a minimum size of 300 mm and a bag of 12 fish a day (2025-26). Many anglers release most of what they catch on a wild fishery like this. The protected native galaxias must always go back, and you must clean your kit between waters.

A few things shape what you keep here, and they matter, so be exact.

• The limits set what you may keep. Under the Inland Fishing Code 2025-26, Arthurs Lake has a minimum size of 300 mm and a bag limit of 12 brown trout per day (Inland Fisheries Service, Arthurs Lake page, as of 5 June 2026). A fish under 300 mm goes back. Take only what you will eat; 12 is a generous ceiling, not a target.
• Wild browns are good on the plate. A keepable Arthurs brown, around 400 g to 1 kg and in good condition, is excellent eating. On a self-sustaining wild fishery, a widely-kept ethic is to keep a couple for the pan and release the rest, especially the bigger, better-conditioned fish.
• The protected natives always go back. The saddled galaxias and Arthurs paragalaxias are endangered and fully protected: if you somehow catch one, release it unharmed. Never take a native fish.
• Clean your kit between waters. Tasmania is strict about biosecurity. Didymo and whirling disease are the threats; clean, drain and dry all your gear (waders, net, boat, flies and lures) between waters so you do not carry anything from one lake to the next. This is a genuine fishery-health rule on the Central Plateau, not a formality.

Licence and rules

Yes, you need an Inland Fisheries Service angling licence to fish Arthurs (it is a trout water). For the 2025-26 season a full-season one-rod licence is A$93.50, with shorter cards from A$28.50 for 48 hours. Buy it in minutes at ifs.tas.gov.au, Service Tasmania or a tackle shop. The minimum size is 300 mm, the bag is 12, and the season runs 2 August 2025 to 3 May 2026.

What the licence is. Tasmania has no single national fishing licence. To fish any trout or salmon water in the state, including Arthurs Lake, you need an inland angling licence from the Inland Fisheries Service (IFS). It is a personal licence (one or two rods), not a per-water permit, so the same card covers Arthurs, Great Lake and the rest of the trout waters for its validity. Carry it while you fish. Juniors aged 14 to 17 fish on a free junior licence.

2025-26 IFS angling licence fees (Inland Fisheries Service, as of 5 June 2026):

(Full season also sold as a discounted 5-season card; concession rates apply to seniors, pensioners and 18 to 21 year-olds. Source: Inland Fisheries Service angling-licence fees, as of 5 June 2026.)

How to get it

• Go to ifs.tas.gov.au and buy online (the quickest way), choosing your card length and one or two rods.
• Or buy in person at a Service Tasmania shop or a licensed tackle shop.
• Carry the licence (paper or on your phone) while you fish, and have your photo ID with it.

Sizes, bag and season

(Inland Fisheries Service Arthurs Lake page and Inland Fishing Code 2025-26, as of 5 June 2026.)

• The season dates are the 2025-26 ones; Tasmanian trout seasons are set each year, so confirm the next season's opening and closing dates on the IFS "Season Dates and Times" page before you travel.
• A no-fishing zone at the inflows. All waters flowing into Arthurs Lake, and for a 50 m radius below where each flows in, are closed to fishing at all times to protect spawning fish (Inland Fisheries Service, as of 5 June 2026). Keep off the creek mouths.
• Clean your kit between waters (the biosecurity rule above), and release the protected natives.

Where to fish from the shore

From the shore you fish the flooded grassy bays, the weed margins and the rocky points. Cowpaddock Bay is the noted shore spot, especially in the mayfly hatch. The western and southern shores are reached by 4WD tracks. Keep off the creek mouths, which are closed to fishing. Brown trout feed close in, so a careful wade and a short cast often do it.

Arthurs is shallow over much of its area, so from the shore you are fishing the flooded margins, the weed beds and the rocky edges where the trout cruise and feed. These are the noted shore marks and access (Inland Fisheries Service, Arthurs Lake page, as of 5 June 2026):

• Cowpaddock Bay. The best-known shore mark, among the most popular and productive spots for shore-based fly fishers, especially during the mayfly season (November to February). Reachable on foot; a classic Arthurs hatch bay.
• The flooded grassy bays and margins (early season). Where the rising water floods the grass, trout move in to tail and feed. Walk the margins quietly and look for moving fish; a slow wet fly or a sight-fished nymph is the method.
• The western and southern shores. Reached by 4WD roads, these give walk-and-wade access to rocky margins, points and weedy edges away from the ramps. A vehicle with clearance helps.
• Near the campgrounds (Pumphouse Bay and Jonah Bay). Easy shore access close to where you stay, handy for a first or last hour without a drive.
• Off the creek mouths (but not in them). The inflows draw fish, but the water flowing in and a 50 m radius below it are closed to fishing at all times. Fish near them, not in them.

What depth and structure mean for method from the shore

• Flooded grass and shallow margins (a rod-length or two out, early season): tailing and cruising browns. A wet fly / streamer rig fished slow, or a sight-fished nymph rig to a moving fish.
• The weed beds and their edges (the hatch): rising trout on the mayfly. A dry-fly rig with a dun or spinner to a riser; a nymph in the gaps.
• Rocky points and shores (any time, and when the wind is up): searching water. A wet fly or nymph fished along the edge, or a small soft plastic or spinner on the light spin outfit when the fly fishing is blown out.

A note on the wade and the weather: Arthurs is exposed and can turn rough quickly, and the bottom is uneven with weed and timber, so wade carefully, watch the wind, and keep your back to a low sun on the calm bright days, because the trout see you as easily as you see them.

Shore or boat, and the time of day

From the shore, fish the flooded bays, the weed margins and Cowpaddock Bay for the hatch, best at first and last light and on a calm bright day for sight-fishing. From a boat you drift loch-style over the weed and work the Morass timber, which opens up far more water. Launch at one of four ramps. The wind decides the day either way, so watch it.

Plain version: if you only have the shore, fish the flooded bays early, Cowpaddock Bay for the hatch, and the rocky margins when the wind is up, at first and last light or on the calm bright days. A boat opens up loch-style drifting over the weed and the timber-filled Morass, which is a lot more water and the productive way to cover it on a tougher day. Either way the wind is the variable: a flat calm makes the hatch and the polaroiding, a blow pushes you onto the wet fly and the sheltered shores.

This table is the core decision the trip turns on. It lives on the cheat sheet too. Read it as: pick where you are and when, and it gives you the rig.

Guided fishing and boat hire

For a first visit, a Central Highlands fly-fishing guide is the simplest way to fish Arthurs well: they supply the boat and tackle and read the water for you. There is no big charter fleet here, so book a guide directly. To fish your own boat, launch at one of four ramps (Jonah Bay, Pumphouse Bay, Arthurs Dam, Morass Bay). Watch the wind and the low-water hazards.

A boat is what opens up the loch-style drifting and the Morass timber, so it earns its place, but the lake is exposed and can get rough fast, and in low water it goes very shallow with submerged hazards, so take the weather and the level seriously in a small boat.

Guided (recommended for a first visit)

Tasmania's Central Highlands have experienced fly-fishing guides who run Arthurs and the nearby lakes, supplying the boat, the tackle and the local knowledge of the bays and the hatch. Book directly:

• The Highland Fly (Miena) – thehighlandfly.com.au, nick.may@thehighlandfly.com.au, 0477 661 270. A Central Highlands fly-fishing guide based at Miena, on the doorstep of Arthurs and Great Lake. Confirm Arthurs is on the day and the current rate when you book (as of 5 June 2026).
• Other Central Highlands and Miena-based guides run Arthurs as part of a Highland lakes day. Day rates are mostly on request and vary with the trip, so contact a guide to book rather than expecting a fixed price; the Lake Country lodges around Miena can also point you to a guide.

Launch your own boat

Four boat ramps serve the lake (Inland Fisheries Service, Arthurs Lake page, as of 5 June 2026): Jonah Bay, Pumphouse Bay, Arthurs Dam, and Morass Bay (Yangena). Pumphouse Bay and Jonah Bay also have campgrounds, so you can launch and stay in one place. Watch the wind (the lake is open to all directions and gets rough), keep clear of the submerged timber and the low-water hazards, and carry the right safety gear for an exposed alpine lake.

Where to stay

To stay on the water, there are lakeside campgrounds at Pumphouse Bay (showers and toilets, open year-round) and Jonah Bay (basic bush camping, shut over winter). For a bed, the Lake Country lodges and accommodation around Miena and Great Lake, a short drive west, are the usual base. Bothwell and the Central Highlands towns are within reach too.

Camp on the lake (closest to the fishing)

• Pumphouse Bay campground – the popular one with fishermen, with septic toilets and hot showers (a small fee for the showers and laundry), provided by Hydro Tasmania. A boat ramp is here too, so you can camp, launch and fish in one place. Self-registration on arrival.
• Jonah Bay campground – basic bush camping near Cowpaddock Bay, rugged and minimal (one unisex toilet, no showers). It closes from the first week of May and reopens on the last Saturday in July, so it is shut over the closed season. A boat ramp is here.
• Both campgrounds are run by the Bothwell Tourism Association (booking on 03 6259 4049 / 0439 503 211); fees are paid by self-registration on entry (as of 5 June 2026).

Stay in a bed nearby

• Miena and the Great Lake / Lake Country lodges – a short drive west, the natural base for the Central Highlands lakes, with lodge and cabin accommodation and the closest services. Handy for fishing Arthurs and Great Lake on the same trip.
• Bothwell and the southern Central Highlands towns – a longer but easy drive, with guesthouses and pubs, for a wider choice off the plateau.

Buy your licence on the way. You can buy the IFS angling licence online before you leave, or in person at Service Tasmania or a tackle shop on the way up to the Highlands. There is no licence desk at the lake, so sort it before you arrive.

The methods, and the rigs to build them

Fly fishing is the method here. Three fly setups cover the lake: a wet fly or small streamer for the flooded margins and the weed early, a nymph along the weed edges, and a dry fly in the mayfly hatch. Light spin and lure are also legal, so small soft plastics or spinners on a light outfit are the wind-day alternative. Each links to its own build page.

Map of where and when to a method. The build instructions and the knots live on the rig and knot pages, so I link rather than repeat them.

• Flooded grassy bays and the weed, early season → wet fly / streamer rig. A woolly bugger, fur fly or small streamer fished slow along the flooded margins and over the weed, for trout feeding subsurface. The opening-season method, on foot or loch-style from a drifting boat.
• Along the weed edges, between rises → nymph rig. A weighted nymph fished slow along the weed and the drop-offs, where trout hold and feed below the surface most of the day. The fish-finder when nothing is rising, and a sight-fishing fly to a cruising trout.
• The mayfly hatch over the weed → dry-fly rig. A mayfly dun or spinner imitation to a rising fish on a calm, warm day from November to February. The classic Arthurs game, at its best at Cowpaddock Bay.
• When the wind kills the fly → small soft plastics or spinners on the light spin kit. Lures are legal here, so when a blow scatters the hatch and the fly fishing is hard, a small soft plastic or a spinner on the same light spinning outfit the drop shot page describes will take fish along the margins and the points.

The knots that tie the fly rigs are the perfection loop (the leader loop, to join leader to fly line loop-to-loop), the surgeon's knot or the blood knot (the leader-to-tippet join), and the improved clinch knot (tippet to fly). For the light spin option, the Palomar ties the spinner or jighead on. Each rig page links the knots it needs.

Build your kit (the kit builder and the shopping list)

Pick your method (fly or light spin) and where you will fish (shore or boat), and the kit builder trims the shopping list and the rigs to exactly what you need. One fly outfit, a wallet of leaders and tippet, and a box of wet flies, nymphs and mayfly dries cover the lake; a light spin outfit with a few soft plastics and spinners is the wind-day alternative. No brands, no prices.

That is the whole list. One fly outfit, a floating line and a sink-tip or intermediate, a wallet of leaders and tippet, and a box split into wet flies, nymphs and mayfly dries. Add a light spin rod with a few soft plastics and spinners only for the wind days. Buy generic sizes and types; you do not need a named brand to catch an Arthurs brown.

A trip checklist

Before you go: check your dates against the early-August-to-early-May season, buy the IFS angling licence (a week card suits most visitors), decide shore or boat and book a guide if it is your first visit, pack the fly kit (and a light spin outfit for the wind), know the 300 mm and 12-fish limits and the clean-kit rule, and watch the weather. Then print the cheat sheet and take it.

Do this in order:

1. Check your dates against the season. The 2025-26 season runs 2 August 2025 to 3 May 2026; confirm the next season's dates on the IFS site. The peak is September to March, the mayfly hatch November to February. Plan inside the open dates.
2. Buy the IFS angling licence. Online at ifs.tas.gov.au (the week card suits most visitors at A$47.50 for 2025-26), or at Service Tasmania or a tackle shop. Choose one or two rods. Carry it with photo ID while you fish.
3. Decide shore or boat, and book it. First visit, or want the bays and the hatch read for you: book a Central Highlands guide (The Highland Fly and other Miena-based guides). Own boat: launch at Jonah Bay, Pumphouse Bay, Arthurs Dam or Morass Bay, and watch the wind and the low-water hazards.
4. Pack the fly kit. A 5 to 6 weight outfit, a floating line and a sink-tip or intermediate, leaders, tippet, and a box of wet flies, nymphs and mayfly dries, plus waders, a wading staff, polarised glasses, a soft net and windproof clothing. Add a light spin rod and a few soft plastics and spinners for the wind. The shopping list above (trimmed by the kit builder) is your packing list.
5. Know the rules. Minimum size 300 mm, bag 12 a day; keep a couple and release the rest on a wild fishery. Release the protected native galaxias. Keep off the creek mouths (closed within 50 m). Wet hands, careful release.
6. Clean, drain and dry your gear before and after, so you carry nothing between waters (didymo and whirling disease are the threats).
7. Print the cheat sheet and fold it into the box. Get the printable cheat sheet

Common mistakes

The big ones: turning up outside the early-August-to-early-May season, missing the mayfly hatch window, fishing the bright middle of a calm day without sight-fishing for it, ignoring the wind on an exposed lake, fishing the closed creek mouths, and bringing dirty kit between waters. None is hard to avoid once you know.

• Fishing outside the season. Arthurs is shut from early May to early August. The 2025-26 season runs 2 August to 3 May; check the next season's dates before you book, not after. The Jonah Bay campground is also shut over winter.
• Missing the hatch window. The mayfly highlight is November to February, on the calm warm days, at spots like Cowpaddock Bay. Come for the dry-fly fishing outside that window and you will be on the wet fly and nymph instead, so match your dates to what you want.
• Wasting a calm bright day. A flat, bright day is not a write-off here: it is sight-fishing weather. Walk the flooded margins and the weed looking for moving and tailing fish rather than blind-casting, and keep your back to the sun.
• Ignoring the wind. Arthurs is open to wind from every direction and gets rough fast, especially in a small boat. Watch the forecast, fish the sheltered shores when it blows, and do not push a small boat into a building wind.
• Fishing the creek mouths. The inflows and a 50 m radius below them are closed to fishing at all times to protect spawning fish. Fish near them, not in them.
• Bringing dirty kit. Tasmania is strict on biosecurity. Clean, drain and dry your waders, net, boat, flies and lures between waters so you do not move didymo or whirling disease.
• Keeping everything. The bag is 12, but on a wild self-sustaining fishery the sensible thing is to keep a couple for the pan and release the rest, especially the better-conditioned fish.

Frequently asked questions

The questions travelling anglers ask most about Arthurs Lake: what is here, the IFS angling licence and its price, the season and the mayfly hatch, shore versus boat, the size and bag limits, whether it is fly only, the boat and the ramps, and the kit.