Arthurs Lake cheat sheet

The wild brown trout, the licence and the limits, the fly rigs and the one light kit. One page to take to the water.

Fishing Dan · cheat sheet

Arthurs Lake

The wild brown trout, the licence and the limits, the fly rigs and the one light kit. One page to take to the water.

By Dan · read the full guide

Checked 5 June 2026

fishingdan.com/spots/arthurs-lake

What's on

Flooded-margin wet fly Aug – Oct, Mar – Apr

Mayfly dry fly Nov – Feb

Nymph along the weed the open season

Light spin (wind days) the open season

Peak In season Slow Closed (law)▎This month

Season 2 Aug 2025 to 3 May 2026 (confirm next season's dates). Flooded grassy bays Aug-Oct, mayfly hatch Nov-Feb, margins again Mar-Apr. Shut over winter.

Licence

An Inland Fisheries Service angling licence (this is a trout water). 2025-26: full season 1 rod A$93.50, 28-day A$74, 7-day A$47.50, 48-hour A$28.50; juniors 14-17 free. Buy at ifs.tas.gov.au, Service Tasmania or a tackle shop. Carry it with photo ID.

Limits

Minimum size 300 mm, bag 12 brown trout a day (Inland Fishing Code 2025-26). Bait, lures and flies all allowed. Keep a couple, release the rest on a wild fishery.

Release and clean

Release the protected native saddled galaxias and Arthurs paragalaxias. Keep off the creek mouths (closed within 50 m). Clean, drain and dry all kit between waters (didymo and whirling disease).

Bank vs boat · season · time → rig

Where and when	From the shore	From a boat	Best time	Rig
Flooded grassy bays (early season)	Yes, the classic shore game	Yes, drift the margins	First and last light	Wet fly / streamer rig
The mayfly hatch over the weed	Yes, Cowpaddock Bay	Yes, anchor or drift on rises	Calm, warm days, Nov-Feb	Dry-fly rig
Along the weed edges, between rises	Yes	Yes, loch-style drift	Through the day	Nymph rig
The Morass sunken timber	Limited	Yes, the boat's water	Low light, calm	Wet fly / streamer rig or nymph
When the wind kills the fly (light spin)	Yes	Yes	Any, low light best	Small soft plastics or spinners on the light spin outfit

Shore for the flooded bays, Cowpaddock Bay in the hatch, and the rocky margins; a boat for loch-style drifting over the weed and the Morass timber. The wind decides the day.

The rigs

Wet fly / streamer rig

Fly line → perfection-loop leader → tippet → a woolly bugger, fur fly or small streamer fished slow over the margins and weed

Perfection loop · surgeon's / blood knot · improved clinch

Nymph rig

Fly line → tapered leader → tippet → a weighted nymph fished slow along the weed edges, sight-fished to a cruising trout

Perfection loop · surgeon's / blood knot · improved clinch

Dry-fly rig

Fly line → tapered leader → fine tippet → a mayfly dun or spinner imitation to a rising fish in the hatch

Perfection loop · surgeon's / blood knot · improved clinch

Light spin outfit

Light spin rod and 2500 reel → short fluoro leader → a small soft plastic or spinner, the wind-day option

Palomar

What you need

Rod & reel

Fly rod 9 ft (2.7 m), 5 to 6 weight (a 6-weight is the all-round Highland pick into the wind)

Fly reel matched to the rod, with a smooth drag and decent backing

Light spin outfit (optional) a light 2.1 to 2.4 m (7 to 8 ft) spinning rod and 2500 reel

Fly line, leader & tippet

Fly line a floating line, plus an intermediate or slow-sink line for the weed and the wind

Tapered leaders 9 ft tapered leaders, a couple of spares

Tippet 3X to 5X spools (heavier for the wet fly, finer for the mayfly dries)

Tippet rings (optional) small

Flies

Wet flies / streamers woolly buggers, fur flies and small streamers, some weighted

Nymphs weighted nymphs in a range of sizes

Mayfly dries dun and spinner imitations to match the Highland hatch

Light spin option

Small soft plastics 2 to 3 inch, natural tones

Small spinners a few small spinners in natural and bright finishes

Light leader a short fluorocarbon leader

Other kit

Chest waders and a wading staff the bottom is uneven with weed and timber, and the level changes

Landing net a soft catch-and-release mesh suits a wild brown

Polarised glasses essential for sight-fishing the flooded bays and spotting fish in the clear, calm water

Warm and windproof clothing it is exposed alpine water

A way to carry your licence paper or on your phone, with photo ID

Clean, drain and dry kit clean all of it between waters (didymo and whirling disease)

One fly outfit and a wallet of leaders, tippet and flies build the whole lake. A light spin rod and a few soft plastics or spinners are the wind-day option.

The knots

Knot	Ties	Used by
Perfection loop	The leader loop, to join leader to fly line loop-to-loop.	The fly rigs
Surgeon's knot	The leader-to-tippet join (or the blood knot).	The fly rigs
Blood knot	The leader-to-tippet join (or the surgeon's knot).	The fly rigs
Improved clinch	Tippet to fly.	The fly rigs
Palomar	A spinner or jighead on, for the light spin option.	The light spin outfit

Learn the loop-to-loop and the clinch first; they tie most of the fly fishing. Wet every knot before you pull it tight.

First visit, or want the bays and the hatch read for you? Book a Central Highlands fly-fishing guide (boat and gear supplied). To fish your own boat, launch at one of four ramps. See guided fishing and boat hire in the full guide →

Fishing Dan · fishingdan.com/spots/arthurs-lake · Last checked 5 June 2026 · Confirm licences, seasons and boat hire with the authorities named in the full guide before you travel.

The printable

This one page is the printable I take to the water.

Give me an email and I will show it to you, ready to print. A one-page reference: what's on by month, the licence and rules, a rig for every fish, the shared tackle box and the knots.

I'll send you the cheat sheet, and email you when I add a new place to fish. Nothing else.