The Derwent River estuary produces bream, flathead, cocky salmon, garfish, yellowtail kingfish, jackass morwong, snotties (warehou), silver trevally, cod, pike, whiting, wrasse, cod, barracoutta, squid, yelloweye mullet, slimy mackerel, striped tuna, dory and blue grenadier. Pink snapper are an occasional catch but perhaps increasing in number.

Resident and sea-run trout and Atlantic salmon are caught in the estuary up to New Norfolk.

The lower river can be divided into three parts …

1. The upper estuary from Bridgewater to New Norfolk
2. The middle estuary from Bridgewater to Tasman Bridge
3. The lower estuary from Tasman Bridge to South Arm.

The upper estuary

The river from the rapids above New Norfolk downstream to Granton has brown trout, including sea runners.

The seaward limit requiring a freshwater licence is upstream of a line through Dogshear Point.

If you have no trout licence or the season is closed all trout must be returned.

There is a concrete ramp downstream from New Norfolk, and a gravel ramp between Granton and New Norfolk.

Another launch site is on the opposite side of the river where an unsealed road crosses a train track and goes to the riverbank.

Boaters can also launch from a ramp next to Bridgewater Bridge.

Fishermen chasing sea trout usually troll or cast lures to the river’s edges.

Electric motors or pedal-power helps get close to feeding trout.

Look for splashes or bubbles against the bank left by trout feeding on whitebait.

Most trolling action is done along the edges. Try trolling about 2m out from shore.

Some of the best fish are caught at night.

The middle estuary

Bream fishing is especially good from Bridgewater to the Tasman Bridge, but expect also trout, Atlantic salmon, flathead and cocky salmon.

Bream move further upstream from around December, depending on rainfall.

There are several boat ramps, and kayaks can be launched at various parks.

Otago Bay upstream of Bowen Bridge on the east shore produces trophy bream. Sea trout and resident trout are caught here all year from boat and riverbank.

Good fishing spots include Austins Ferry, Dogshear Point (the shallow flats from Claremont to the DEC, including a rock drop-off in front of Morilla), Prince of Wales Bay, New Town Bay
and Cornelian Bay.

On the east side try Kangaroo Bay, Montague Bay (and rocky shore to Geilston Bay), Bedlam Walls and Store Point to Old Beach.

Bream can be taken in the shallow bays using flats techniques, fishing with shallow lures.

For best results fish big high tides during the early morning or during an overcast day.

Bream will feed up to the edges, especially along rocky shores.

In this skinny water, cast in front of fish so they swim towards your lure without being spooked.

Lures should dive deep enough to hit bottom occasionally.

Pylons and other structure attract bream, and soft plastics are ideal to sink beside such vertical structure.

The lower estuary

South of the Tasman Bridge the species list gets longer and the fish get bigger.

In recent years yellowtail kingfish have been a regular catch, with some pink snapper.

Ralphs Bay on the east side of the estuary has flathead, whiting, flounder, mullet and cocky salmon.

Tranmere near the Tasman Bridge has Punchs Reef, which produces morwong, trevally, cod, garfish and cocky salmon.

Silver trevally can be caught from the shore at Kangaroo Bluff and Howrah.

Sandy Bay can produce flathead, garfish, morwong, mullet and cocky salmon from shore.

Tasman Bridge to Bowen Bridge is best for bream, with Lindisfarne Bay, Prince of Wales Bay and Bedlam Walls among the best spots.

Barracoutta are caught around the Tasman Bridge.

In the lower estuary, diving birds reveal schools of fish such as cocky salmon.

Squid will readily grab lures in the warmer months.

Bluethroat wrasse are caught around the rocks. Try Kingston Beach for these.

Schools of silver and snotty trevally are seasonal. Striped tuna turn up on occasion.

Piersons Point and Iron Pot mark the lower limit of the estuary and the beginning of Storm Bay and the Tasman Sea.

Tinderbox has a boat ramp, but note the Marine Reserve. Outside the reserve are sand flathead and the larger tiger flathead, along with pike, snotties, gar, cocky salmon, barracoutta and squid.

Legacy pollution

Don’t eat fish from the lower Derwent, especially bream, as legacy heavy metal pollution exists and the metals are found at unsafe levels in some fish.

This is a catch-and-release fishery.

The Derwent estuary is also a Shark Refuge Area. No taking of sharks, skates or rays other than elephant fish is allowed.

Additionally, there is a large shore-hugging marine reserve around Tinderbox.

Tasmanian fishing regulations
Tasmanian marine reserves
Tasmanian saltwater fishing seasons
Trout fishing spot access programs
Fisheries assessment reports
Buy a freshwater fishing licence
Tasmanian lake levels (hydro)
Tasmanian river flows (govt)
Tasmanian lake webcams
Tasmanian river flows
Bag and size limits
Private Tasmanian trout fisheries
Return to the Tasmanian Fishing Map

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Brushy Lagoon is one the few Tasmanian fishing locations where Atlantic salmon, brown, rainbow and brook trout can be caught.

There’s also redfin.

Large hatchery salmon have been historically released in the lagoon, to 12kg, making for interesting fishing.

Brushy Lagoon is open all year.

Being less than an hour drive from Launceston or Devonport, it is popular, so expect company on weekends.

There is unsealed road to transit but it does not require 4WD.

The best ramp is near the dam wall. There is also a ramp and camping area on the east side of the lake.

Lagoon surroundings are bush, with mostly tea tree around the edges.

The area near the dam wall is a convenient and proven place to bait fish from shore.

The south-west side has good wading areas, but summer weed is a problem.

There are patches of dead trees that require careful navigation in boats, with the north end containing the most snags.

Trolling is easier at the southern end.

Brushy has black and red spinner mayfly hatches, and dun hatches.

Midge hatches happen in the morning and evening in sheltered corners from October.

Trolling shallow-swimming bibbed lures in bright colours is a proven method.

Most bait fishers use worms or a live mudeye (dragonfly larvae) under a float.

Note that where Brushy Rivulet flows in there is a surrounding 50m no-fishing zone.

Tasmanian fishing regulations
Tasmanian marine reserves
Tasmanian saltwater fishing seasons
Trout fishing spot access programs
Fisheries assessment reports
Buy a freshwater fishing licence
Tasmanian lake levels (hydro)
Tasmanian river flows (govt)
Tasmanian lake webcams
Tasmanian river flows
Bag and size limits
Private Tasmanian trout fisheries
Return to the Tasmanian Fishing Map

Email corrections, additions, pictures or video here.

Tasmania’s trout fishery is primarily lake-based, but there is good fishing for mostly small fish in the island’s streams.

Choosing a “best spot” is a seasonal affair, as annual and short-term weather patterns, the time of year and other factors affect the quality of fishing.

It also depends on what sort of trout fishing you like.

Do you want to stalk fish with a fly rod in a lake’s shallows? Wade a fast stream? Chuck spinners? Or troll? Or catch a single big fish rather than many small ones?

The Tasmanian fishery is divided between highland and lowland waters.

Lowland fisheries tend to be warmer and fish earlier, with alpine conditions experienced in highland locations.

There is a division between brown trout and rainbow trout waters, with only a few waters fishing well for both species.

Where the division is strong, there are usually different open/closed periods as the two species spawn at different times.

Brown trout are by far the dominant species across Tasmania, with very few waters having rainbow trout as the dominant species.

Fewer still are brook trout locations, as brook trout do not compete well with other species.

Atlantic salmon can be targeted in some areas as these fish escape from farm pens and hatcheries, and some large adult fish are released annually by Fisheries to spice up the fishing.

Redfin are found alongside trout at some locations and are a good sport and table fish despite their feral status.

Thankfully carp are not widespread in Tasmania.

“Sea trout”, being trout that have run to sea, or “slob trout” which have set up permanently in an estuary, can be caught around Tasmanian river mouths in late winter and spring when whitebait schools move up the rivers.

Tasmania has many small lakes and streams that are tucked away in hidden locations, and most of these hold trout.

There are also private fisheries.

Some Tasmanian trout fishing spots are historically consistent producers, here’s a list to get you started.

Tasmania’s best trout lakes

Arthurs Lake – a premium location where you can stalk fish around the shallow edges. Quality of fishing fluctuates, but when it is good it is great.
Four Springs Lake – the dammed confluence of four creeks. Some big fish at times.
Woods Lake – a large impoundment located south of Arthurs Lake. Lots of fish to 2kg, all types of fishing styles work with easy bait fishing on northern shore.
Little Pine Lagoon – premier fly fishing water, with great dry fly fishing at times. Best fished by wading.
Craigbourne Dam – open grassy banks just an hour from Hobart. Good fishing but can suffer from low rainfall.
Penstock Lagoon – great highlands fly fishing for brown and rainbow trout.
Bronte Lagoon – a popular fly fishing location.
Bradys Lake – this is part of a chain of three lakes, all with good general trout fishing from boat or shore.
Lake Pedder – loads of mostly brown trout to 1.5kg. Boat fishing is best as shore access is limited.
Lake Gordon – loads of mostly brown trout to 2kg, and redfin. Good shore access for landbased fishing when levels are low.
Lake Burbury – small rainbow and brown trout, usually lots of them.
Great Lake – quality brown and rainbow trout but pick your weather.
Lake Crescent – some of Tasmania’s biggest trout have been caught here. Rainfall dependent.
Lake Sorell – same as Lake Crescent. Has had a problem with carp.
Western Lakes – trophy trout are taken from the shallow clear lakes of the plateau, including the popular Nineteen Lagoons area. This a very special remote setting, but this is an area only for well-prepared, fit fishos if you are leaving the main tracks.

Tasmania’s best trout rivers

Tyenna River – this Derwent tributary river has a large concentration of fish and some good bankside access. Browns and rainbows.
Derwent River – a large river that usually flows hard, contains some big fish, but bankside access is limited.
Mersey River – fast river which contains browns and rainbows.
Meander River – fast river with good brown trout fishing, and more opportunities at Huntsman Lake in the headwaters.
South Esk – Tasmania’s longest river, although not a powerful one. Best section is between Clarendon and Mathinna.
Brumbys Creek – possibly Tasmania’s best trout stream. A lowland fishery with that provides great fly fishing. Divided into three main sections behind weirs.
Macquarie River – great fly fishing in the quiet backwaters.
Leven River – sea trout in the estuary, with good fast-water stream fishing at Gunns Plains and Loongana. Mostly browns.
St Patricks River – for those who like small streams.

Tasmania’s best sea trout estuaries

Derwent River – plenty of sea trout are caught from Hobart to almost as far upstream as the paper mill.
Huon River – produces some good sea runners, with the area near the town bridge down to Egg Islands as good as anywhere.
Tamar River – Launceston’s river produces sea trout in season.
West Coast rivers – most of these produce sea trout in season. Tasmania’s East Coast is drier and the small rivers are better for bream fishing.
North Coast rivers – some, such as the Forth, produce good sea trout in season.

Tasmania’s best rainbow trout waters

Weld River (southern Tasmania) – small but strongly flowing stream that runs through forests in southern Tasmania. Difficult access, plenty of small rainbows.
Weld River (northern Tasmania) – small stream with rainbows.
Vale River – small rainbows.
Mersey River (upper section) – rainbows.
Lake Burbury – about 50 per cent of catch.
Great Lake – a small percentage of the catch, possibly around 10 per cent.
Lake Skinner – small lake in the south, long uphill walk, limited bankside access. Stocked only with rainbows.
Other lakes with some rainbows – Bradys Lake, Bronte Lagoon, Pine Tier Lagoon, Lake St Clair, Lake Echo, Lake King William, Penstock Lagoon, Dee Lagoon, Brushy Lagoon, Four Springs, Curries River Dam, Lake Leake, Tooms Lake and Craigbourne Dam and Lake Sorell.

Tasmania’s best brook trout waters

Lake Plimsoll – a specialist brook trout fishery on the west coast. Easy bankside access.
Lake Rolleston – a specialist brook trout fishery on the west coast. Easy bankside access.
Clarence Lagoon – regular brook trout catches.

Other waters – brook trout are occasionally released from hatcheries and show up in associated waters, such as the Huon River.

It is likely that rainbow and brook trout will be first affected by warming from climate change. Highland fisheries will likely be least affected.

Tasmanian fishing regulations
Tasmanian marine reserves
Tasmanian saltwater fishing seasons
Trout fishing spot access programs
Fisheries assessment reports
Buy a freshwater fishing licence
Tasmanian lake levels (hydro)
Tasmanian river flows (govt)
Tasmanian lake webcams
Tasmanian river flows
Bag and size limits
Private Tasmanian trout fisheries
Return to the Tasmanian Fishing Map