Five days in December, from the Meander to the Western Lakes

Our view on your dates

Good dates. Mid-December is when the highland season comes on: Penstock Lagoon is at its best through December, Talbots Lagoon's hatches peak in December and January, and polaroiding on the Western Lakes is best from December to February. You fish the last week before Tasmania's school holidays, which start on 19 December.

The plan starts in the Meander valley and finishes on the plateau. Peter's river day comes before your day on the Meander alone, and his polaroiding day before your last morning polaroiding Great Lake.

Two waters are rebuilding. Brown trout numbers in Little Pine Lagoon are still down after the 2024-25 cormorant event, though the fish it holds run 1 to 1.8 kg, so Little Pine is an evening stop here rather than a day. The same event hit the north-west rivers hardest, the Mersey among them; by February 2026 trout numbers were climbing again at most sites. Peter knows which rivers are fishing that week.

The plateau sits at about 1,150 m, and snow and poor visibility can come at any time of year. Bring the warm layers even in December. The gate on Lake Augusta Road, the way into the Western Lakes, reopened on 29 September 2026.

Day by day

• Fishing on your own
• Fishing with Peter
• Driving
• Walking
• A meal stop

1. 1

   Day 1 · Monday · with Peter

   A hatch day: Talbots Lagoon, or the rivers near Deloraine

   6amnoon6pm

   • With Peter, 8am to 6pm
   • Dinner in Deloraine

   Water

   Talbots Lagoon, or the Meander and the Mersey near Deloraine

   Hours

   Pick-up at 8am in Deloraine, back by 6pm

   Drive

   Peter drives. Talbots is about 2¼ hours each way

   Rules

   Talbots: bag 5 at 300 mm, the inflows closed

   Gear

   Peter brings all the gear

   Food

   Lunch and snacks from Peter; dinner in Deloraine

   If the weather turns: Heavy rain brings the rivers up fast and makes the private roads to Talbots heavy going. Peter calls it in the morning, and the day swaps with one of your own if it can.

   The full day

   Stay in Deloraine on the Sunday night; it's about 40 minutes from Launceston airport. Peter picks you up at 8 and chooses the water from the forecast.

   On a mild, cloudy day he may take you to Talbots Lagoon in the north-west, one of his home waters: wild browns and rainbows of 1 to 2.3 kg, feeding on duns, spinners and damselflies, with mudeyes in the evening. By our routing it's about two and a quarter hours each way, on private forestry roads opened to anglers as a privilege, so it makes for a long day. The lagoon is shallow and snaggy, good for wading with care on the soft bottom.

   Otherwise it's a river closer to Deloraine: the Meander or the Mersey, wading and casting dries to the hatch.

   Talbots rules: fishing from an hour before sunrise to three hours after sunset, the streams running in are closed, bag 5 at 300 mm, and no motorised boats.

   Peter brings lunch and snacks. For dinner, the Empire Hotel on Emu Bay Road serves meals seven days. Tomorrow you leave at 4:30, so buy tonight what you'll eat at dawn: Woolworths in Deloraine is open into the evening.

2. 2

   Day 2 · Tuesday · on your own

   The Meander below Huntsman Lake and at Meander, then up to Miena

   6amnoon6pm

   • Drive to Warners Road, about 30 minutes
   • Walk down, about 10 minutes, steep
   • Nymphing the runs below the dam
   • Walk back up, about 15 minutes
   • Drive to Meander, about 15 minutes
   • Breakfast at the Meander store
   • Duns and spinners at Meander
   • Drive up to Miena, a little over an hour

   Water

   The Meander below Huntsman Lake, then at Meander township

   Best time

   Early below the dam, then late afternoon at Meander

   Drive

   About 25 minutes from Deloraine to Warners Road

   Rules

   Any method, bag 5 at 220 mm

   Flies

   Royal Wulff, parachute Adams, spinners, Pheasant Tail

   Food

   Breakfast and lunch at the café in the Meander store; bring dinner up to Miena

   Then

   A little over an hour up to Miena for three nights

   Below the dam, from Warners Road, at dawn

   Getting there

   1. From Deloraine take the Highland Lakes Road south and keep straight on to the Meander Road. After about 15 km turn left onto East Meander Road, then right onto Jackeys Marsh Road.
   2. After 3.8 km turn right onto Warners Road, which is gravel.
   3. There are two anglers' car parks. For the first, keep right where the road forks after 200 m; the car park is at the end, about 900 m on. The second is on Warners Road itself, about 2.5 km in.
   4. From either car park a steep foot track drops to the river: about 10 minutes down, and longer coming back up.
   5. From the second one you can fish upstream towards the dam. Cross only at the two marked wading spots, and only if it's safe. Stop at the no-access signs below the spillway.
   6. From the first, the foot access follows the river downstream towards Meander.

   Fishing it

   Where

   Pocket water, tight runs and pools between the boulders. Work upstream, and drop a fly into the eddies behind the rocks.

   How

   Upstream nymphing, or a dry with a nymph under it. The water is cold and clear and holds a lot of fish. If the wind gusts down the gorge, go a bead size heavier.

   If it’s slow

   If the river is up, don't push the wading: the current is strong and the rocks are slippery. It fishes better at lower flows anyway, so take the day's backup.

   Meander township, through the day

   Getting there

   1. Back out on Jackeys Marsh Road, turn left onto East Meander Road and left again onto Main Road. The river bridge is 800 m on, at the edge of town.
   2. You'll see the Anglers Access sign at the bridge. Park off the road there.
   3. Walk upstream from the sign. The foot access follows the river up towards Jackeys Marsh, through Crown land.
   4. Downstream of the bridge it's wading only, and past the next two access points you need the landowner's permission.

   Fishing it

   Where

   The shingle runs and riffles upstream of the bridge, where the water is clear enough to spot fish. The heads of the pools hold them.

   How

   Wade and fish upstream with a size 14 gold bead-head nymph under a Royal Wulff, which takes fish most of the time. Go to a dry alone when they're rising.

   If it’s slow

   The middle of the day can go quiet. Late afternoon and warm evenings fish strongly from December, and the spinners come on later in the day.

   If the weather turns: If the Meander is high after rain (the Hydro gauge at Deloraine shows it), fish the forested southern shore of Huntsman Lake instead, 20 km south of Deloraine, which gets good beetle falls in summer.

   The full day

   The stretch from Huntsman Lake down to Deloraine is the best fly water on the river: good for wading with care, upstream nymphing and dry fly. Since the dam was built in 2007 the flows below it have improved the summer fishing, and the river runs cold and clear right through the season.

   Be on the water below the dam early, nymphing the cold, fast runs, then fish the duns and the red and black spinners at Meander through the day and into the evening. A Royal Wulff, a parachute Adams, red and black spinners and a Pheasant Tail nymph cover most of it. The Warners Road water fishes best from December, but the tracks are steep and the river there is strong, with slippery rocks.

   Off the access points the banks are private. Ask the landowner first, since walking in without asking is trespass, and keep out of poppy crops. Any method is allowed here: bag 5 at 220 mm.

   The Meander store, on Main Road, has a café open from 8am to 5:30pm on weekdays: breakfast after the dawn session, and lunch or something to take back to the river.

   In the late afternoon drive up the Highland Lakes Road to Miena, a little over an hour, and stay on Great Lake for the next three nights. The Great Lake Hotel's kitchen is closed on Tuesdays, and the general store in Miena closes at 5, so bring dinner up from the valley. We check the hotel's hours in the week before. The store sells fuel too, from 8 to 5.

3. 3

   Day 3 · Wednesday · on your own

   Penstock Lagoon through the hatch, Little Pine at dusk

   6amnoon6pm

   • Drive to Penstock, about 25 minutes
   • Duns on Penstock, about 11am to 3pm
   • Back to Miena, about 25 minutes
   • Early dinner at the Great Lake Hotel
   • Drive to Little Pine, about 15 minutes
   • Dusk at Little Pine
   • Back to Miena, about 15 minutes

   Water

   Penstock Lagoon, then Little Pine Lagoon at dusk

   Best time

   Duns from about 11am to 3pm on a mild, overcast day

   Drive

   About 25 minutes from Miena to Penstock, 15 to Little Pine

   Rules

   Fly only. Penstock bag 2 at 400 mm; Little Pine bag 5 at 300 mm

   Food

   Lunch from the Miena store to eat on the shore; an early dinner at the hotel

   Penstock, the western shore

   Getting there

   1. From Miena take the Highland Lakes Road east for 9 km and turn right onto the Waddamana Road (C178).
   2. After 9.3 km turn left to the boat ramp at the north end of the lagoon. Park clear of the ramp; there are toilets.
   3. Walk south along the shore: Canal Shore, then Grassy Corner. The western shore is Hydro land, open on foot all the way down to the dam at the south end.
   4. When you wade, stay within 50 m of the bank.

   Fishing it

   Where

   On a dun day, start at Ladys Walk and fish through to Canal Shore. Beginners Bay and Grassy Corner are worth a look on the way.

   How

   A dry with a nymph under it, cast to rising fish. Look along the weedy margins before you wade, because fish cruise close in.

   If it’s slow

   If the duns don't come, or the wind keeps them down, fish small nymphs and stick caddis through the quiet spells. Penstock is ringed by trees, so one shore is always sheltered.

   Penstock, the eastern shore

   Getting there

   1. On the Waddamana Road, turn left 8.4 km from the highway, 800 m before the boat-ramp turn. Park by Pulfords Bridge over the canal; the road beyond it is private.
   2. Walk over the bridge. On the far bank you'll see the sign for the access easement: a strip 10 m wide above the waterline, on foot only.
   3. Follow it down the canal to the lagoon, about 500 m and 10 minutes, then along the North Wall and round the whole eastern shore: Breakfast Bay, Hollis Bay, Crisps Point, Fosters Bay and Robertsons Shore.
   4. Stay inside the strip, because the land above it is private. The canal is closed to fishing above the two white posts.

   Fishing it

   Where

   Breakfast Bay is a good start. On a dun day, fish from the North Wall round to Hollis Bay.

   How

   The same dry and nymph. On calm afternoons, look for fish taking spinners along the marshy edges.

   If it’s slow

   Penstock is hard going on a bright, sunny day. That's the day to swap with Friday and polaroid Great Lake instead.

   Little Pine Lagoon, at dusk

   Getting there

   1. Back on the Highland Lakes Road, drive through Miena and turn left onto the Marlborough Road (B11) about 6 km past it.
   2. After 7.7 km turn right to the boat ramp beside Monpeelyata Canal. Park clear of the ramp; there are toilets.
   3. There's foot access the whole way round the lagoon. Walk south along the Road Shore to the dam and round onto the Untouchables Shore, or north-west along the Cricket Pitch Shore to Tailers Shore.

   Fishing it

   Where

   Every shore produces fish, and the Road, Untouchables and Tailers shores are the favourites. It averages about a metre deep, so look along the margins before you wade.

   How

   At dusk, cast to the rises close in. Evenings here can bring a midge hatch, and on warm nights fish cruise the shore taking spinners.

   If it’s slow

   Little Pine is open to the wind. If it's blowing hard, stay on Penstock's sheltered shore for the evening instead.

   If the weather turns: Penstock is hard going on bright, sunny days. If the day is bright, swap it with Day 5 and polaroid Great Lake's shores, then fish Penstock on Friday morning.

   The full day

   Penstock is about 9 km off the Highland Lakes Road on the Waddamana road. It's fly only, and at its best through December. On a mild, overcast day the duns hatch most strongly from about 11am to 3pm; at dawn there are caenids. You can walk either shore: the western one from the boat ramp, or the eastern one on the access easement from Pulfords Bridge. The land above the easement is private, and the canals above the white posts are closed.

   Penstock's bag is 2, at 400 mm, with only 1 over 500 mm.

   Before you drive out, buy lunch at the general store in Miena, which opens at 8, and buy Friday's dawn breakfast at the same time: on Thursday you're out with Peter until after it closes. Come back to Miena after the hatch. The hotel serves dinner from 5:30, last orders 7:30, so eat early and drive out to Little Pine for the evening.

   Finish at Little Pine Lagoon, about 10 km west of Miena. There's foot access all the way round, and the Road, Untouchables and Tailers shores are the favourites. It fishes best at dawn and dusk. It's fly only: bag 5 at 300 mm, with 2 over 500 mm.

4. 4

   Day 4 · Thursday · with Peter

   Polaroiding the Western Lakes

   6amnoon6pm

   • Peter drives in, up to about 1¼ hours
   • Walk in, up to about 45 minutes
   • Polaroiding with Peter
   • Walk out, up to about 45 minutes
   • Back to Miena by 6pm, up to about 1¼ hours
   • Dinner at the Great Lake Hotel

   Water

   The Western Lakes, off Lake Augusta Road

   Hours

   Peter meets you in Miena at 8am

   Drive

   Peter drives; past Lake Augusta it's 4WD only

   Walking

   Up to 3 km from the road, about 45 minutes each way

   Rules

   Lures and fly; 5 a day across every water, 2 over 500 mm

   Food

   Lunch and snacks from Peter; dinner at the hotel, last orders 7:30

   The Western Lakes, with Peter

   What to expect

   Where

   Shallow lagoons with sand or silt bottoms, where fish show up best: Lake Ada, Augusta and Chipman, and Double, Third and Second lagoons. Peter picks from the wind and the light.

   How

   Walk the shore slowly in polarised glasses and don't cast until you see a fish. Eastern shores in the morning and western ones in the afternoon keep the sun behind you.

   If it’s slow

   Strong westerlies can turn Lake Ada milky. With no fish showing, search the undercut banks with a wet fly or nymph.

   If the weather turns: Cloud kills the polaroiding. On a dull day Peter moves to the mayfly waters instead, or off the plateau if the weather closes in.

   The full day

   Peter meets you in Miena at 8. The Western Lakes are reached by Lake Augusta Road from Liawenee: gravel to Lake Augusta and on through the gate to Lake Ada, about an hour from Liawenee. Past Lake Augusta a high-clearance 4WD is needed, and that driving is Peter's.

   The shallow, sand-bottomed waters polaroid best: lakes Ada, Augusta and Chipman, and Double, Third and Second lagoons. You walk the shore in polarised glasses, find a fish, then cast to it. Some lagoons are a short walk from the road, others up to 3 km.

   Western Lakes rules: lures and fly only, and a bag of 5 a day across every water you fish, with only 2 over 500 mm. Some lagoons are tighter: Lake Botsford is one fish at 500 mm, and East Rocky Lagoon is catch-and-release. The area is fuel stoves only, with no fires.

5. 5

   Day 5 · Friday · on your own

   Great Lake's shores at first light, then the flight home

   6amnoon6pm

   • Drive to Tods Corner, about 15 minutes
   • First light, Great Lake
   • Back to Miena, about 15 minutes
   • Drive to Longford, about 1¼ hours
   • Lunch in Longford
   • On to the airport, about 15 minutes

   Water

   Tods Corner, on Great Lake

   Best time

   First light for rising fish, then polaroid once the sun is up

   Drive

   About 15 minutes from Miena, the last 7 km on gravel

   Rules

   Lures and fly only at Tods Corner; the inflows closed

   Food

   Breakfast you bought on Wednesday; lunch on the way, in Longford

   Then

   About 1½ hours to Launceston airport for an evening flight

   Tods Corner, at first light

   Getting there

   1. From Miena take the Highland Lakes Road east for 4.8 km and turn left onto Tods Corner Road, which is gravel.
   2. It passes the shacks at the south end of the bay, then runs up the eastern side to the boat ramp near Gin Point, 6.8 km in.
   3. Park clear of the ramp and walk back south along the eastern shore, looking into the weed beds as you go.

   Fishing it

   Where

   The weed beds along the eastern shore, and the sheltered side of the points. Zig-zag from thigh-deep water into the shallows, because the fish are spread unevenly.

   How

   At first light on a calm morning, look for fish feeding on midges close in. They can be fussy, so go fine and cast accurately. Once the sun is up, polaroid the shore.

   If it’s slow

   Cloud reflecting on the water hides the fish: face the biggest patch of blue sky. With a northerly, the fish move out to the wind lanes and foam lines, which is mostly boat water.

   If the weather turns: Great Lake can turn rough. If it does, go back to Penstock or Little Pine for the morning.

   The full day

   Polaroiding Great Lake's shoreline pays well on a sunny day, and the best spots are on the sheltered side of the big points and bays, Tods Corner especially.

   Tods Corner is lures and fly only. The streams running into the lake, and 50 m off their mouths, are closed. The bag is 12, with only 3 rainbows; browns must be 300 mm.

   Launceston airport is about an hour and a half from Miena, down the Poatina Road and through Cressy and Longford. Leave by early afternoon for an evening flight, and stop for lunch in Longford, 15 minutes short of the airport: JJ's Bakery on Wellington Street is open until 5 on Fridays. Longford has fuel too, if your hire car goes back full.

The guided days are your guide’s to run. They choose the water close to the day, from the flows and the weather.

If the weather changes

The days above are the plan for settled weather. When it turns, this is where to go instead, and why.

• Bright sun, light wind

  The Western Lakes, or Great Lake's sheltered shores

  Changes days 3, 4, 5

  A polaroiding day. Walk the shallow, sand-bottomed lagoons of the Western Lakes or the sheltered side of Great Lake's points, and look for fish before you cast. Skip Penstock, which is hard going on bright days.

• Mild and overcast

  Penstock or Little Pine, from late morning

  Changes days 3, 4, 5

  A hatch day. The duns come off Penstock and Little Pine most strongly from about 11am to 3pm, so be on one of them by late morning and fish dry flies to the rises. Talbots Lagoon fishes the same way.

• A strong westerly

  The sheltered side of Great Lake

  Changes days 4, 5

  Fish the sheltered side of the points and bays on Great Lake. Lake Ada can turn milky after a strong westerly, so leave it for another day.

• A cold front, snow or low cloud on the plateau

  Down to the Meander

  Changes days 3, 4, 5

  Come down off the plateau. The Meander valley is about an hour from Miena, and the river runs cold and clear all season. Swap a lake day for Day 2's water.

• Heavy rain

  The lakes, and off the rivers

  Changes days 1, 2

  Stay off the rivers until the Hydro gauges drop. Releases from Lake Parangana can raise the Mersey suddenly, and the Meander's spillway can overflow. Fish the lakes instead, and never cross a river that's up.

• Hot and still

  First and last light, or the Meander

  Every day

  Fish first and last light. Little Pine's best fish came at dawn and dusk in summer 2026, Talbots fishes well in the evening, and the Meander stays cool through the heat. Snakes are about from October to March, so wear long pants and boots.

• High fire danger or a fire ban

  Check before you drive up

  Changes days 3, 4, 5

  Check Tasmania Fire Service before you drive up. In 2019 a bushfire closed the roads to Little Pine, Penstock and parts of the Nineteen Lagoons. On a total fire ban day only gas or electric stoves are allowed, so no liquid-fuel stoves either.

Places to stay

• Arcoona Manor, Deloraine. A luxury B&B above the Meander, close to the river for Day 2.
• Meander Country Cabins, Meander. Cabins at Meander township, between Deloraine and Huntsman Lake; they point guests to the Meander River and Huntsman Lake for fishing.
• Deloraine Apex Caravan Park, Deloraine. Sites and cabins on the bank of the Meander in town.
• Great Lake Hotel, Miena. The pub on Great Lake, with rooms and fishing cabins (the cabins share bathrooms). Your base for Days 3 to 5.

You book the one you want, so the room, the price and the cancellation terms stay yours.

Licence and rules

• Anyone 14 or over needs a Tasmanian inland angling licence. For five days, the 7-day licence is $49 (one rod) for 2026-27; buy it online from the Inland Fisheries Service before you fly, or at Service Tasmania and many tackle shops.
• Clean and dry your gear before you travel, and declare used fishing gear to Biosecurity Tasmania when you arrive by air or ferry. Gear that's dirty or wet gets sent to a wash bay, and a fee may apply. Leave felt-soled wading boots at home.
• The Western Lakes, Penstock, Little Pine and Tods Corner are lures and fly only (Penstock and Little Pine are fly only). Each day's bag and size limits are in the plan above.
• Streams running into Great Lake and Talbots Lagoon are closed to fishing, and so are the Penstock canals above the white posts.
• The Central Plateau and the World Heritage Area are fuel stoves only, with no fires at any time.
• All of this plan's waters are open from 1 August 2026 to 2 May 2027; Great Lake is open all year.

What to bring

• Rubber-soled wading boots.
• Warm and waterproof layers: snow can fall on the plateau in any month.
• Polarised sunglasses and a peaked cap for the polaroiding.
• For the lakes: Red Tags, Possum Emergers, Shaving Brushes, black spinners, gum beetles, Bob's Bits and small parachutes; olive or black Woolly Buggers and snail patterns for under the surface.
• For the Meander: Royal Wulffs, parachute Adams, red and black spinners, Elk Hair Caddis and Pheasant Tail nymphs.
• Peter supplies all the gear on his days. Bring your own rod for the three days on your own.
• Your licence, on your phone or printed.

The week before

In the week before your trip, we check these and send you any changes to the plan:

• The forecast for the plateau: Bureau of Meteorology, Liawenee
• Wind on the lakes: Bureau of Meteorology, Central Plateau lakes
• Fire bans and fire danger: Tasmania Fire Service
• River flows on the Meander and Mersey, and lake levels: Hydro Tasmania
• Lake Augusta Road and the Western Lakes tracks: Parks and Wildlife Service alerts
• Road closures: Tasmania Police
• Fishing reports: Inland Fisheries Service news
• The Great Lake Hotel's kitchen days and hours: Great Lake Hotel

Until your first day, you can ask us anything about your plan.