Tailwater Guide

Australian Trout Foundation
Free trout fishing app

Tailwater for Australian Trout Foundation members

Find trout water, read the river and match the hatch. Tailwater brings together 433 trout waters across Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania with the ATF’s own fishing spots, conservation projects and partners — with live river readings from government gauges, trout feeding ratings, a seasonal hatch predictor, season dates and free alerts. Works offline once loaded. No account, no cost.

Launch Tailwater → Become an ATF member
FlyFinz
Brought to you in corporate partnership with FlyFinz, Australia’s fly fishing specialists (Lilydale, Victoria). Tailwater’s fly suggestions and polarised-eyewear tips link straight to the FlyFinz store. Tailwater was created by Frank Gadea of Worldwide Angler.
Tailwater River panel with live government gauge data and a trout feeding rating
Live river readings straight from government gauges, with a trout feeding rating that explains itself.
The ATF tab in Tailwater
The ATF tab: projects, partners and services by state and region.
An ATF fishing spot with live river data
ATF fishing spots with live river flow and water temperature.

433 Trout Waters

High Country freestone streams, big tailwaters and stocked lakes, Snowy Mountains rivers and lakes and highland lakes and lochs — each with its hatch chart, season dates and access notes.

ATF Spots, Projects & Partners

The Australian Trout Foundation’s fishing spots, habitat and stocking projects, businesses and services on the same map, browsable by state and region in their own tab.

Live River & Lake Readings

Flow, level and water temperature straight from the Victorian Government’s own river gauges, WaterNSW gauges and Hydro Tasmania lake levels, with Bureau of Meteorology gauges as a backup. Dissolved oxygen where measured, and a 15-day trend.

Trout Feeding Ratings

A live Poor–Prime rating built on water temperature and how fast it’s changing, flow, dissolved oxygen, pressure, clarity, wind and moon — with a caution flag when it’s too warm to fish trout responsibly.

Hatch Predictor

A seasonal model for each water type and month, with fly suggestions for the day.

FlyFinzFlies link to the FlyFinz store

Polaroiding Days

On clear, low-cloud days Tailwater flags the sharpest light for spotting fish — the best time for sight-fishing with polarised glasses.

FlyFinzTonic polarised eyewear at FlyFinz

Season Dates & Closures

Real open and closed season dates for every water, built into each hatch chart, with links to the official regulations.

Recent Stocking

Recent trout stockings for Victorian and NSW waters — species, numbers and size — based on Victorian Fisheries Authority and NSW DPI releases.

Level, Flow & Feeding Alerts

Set a target level or flow, or ask to hear when feeding turns Good or Prime, and Tailwater emails you — with an optional push notification.

Offline & Private Catch Log

Install it to your home screen and it keeps working with patchy signal. Log catches on your own phone and export them as a spreadsheet any time.

Become an ATF member: individual from $25, club from $50, volunteer

Support the work behind the water

ATF members help protect, rebuild and promote Australia’s trout fishing heritage — through habitat projects, fish stocking and volunteer days. Individual membership from $25 a year, clubs from $50.

Join the ATF →
Tailwater is a free web app — it works in any browser, and on iPhone you can add it to your home screen from Safari (Share → Add to Home Screen) for offline use and notifications. River readings come from the Victorian Government (DEECA) water data, WaterNSW, Hydro Tasmania and the Bureau of Meteorology, each credited in the app; stocking information is based on Victorian Fisheries Authority and NSW DPI releases; regulation links point to the official fisheries agencies.
FlyFinzIn corporate partnership with FlyFinz. Created by Frank Gadea of Worldwide Angler.