Season Dates and Times
To check the open season and fishing times for a specific water:
Key season dates for 2023-24
| Saturday 5/8/23 | Opening of most waters |
|---|---|
| Saturday 30/9/23 | Opening of designated rainbow trout waters |
| Saturday 2/12/23 | Opening of Canal Bay, yingina / Great Lake |
| Sunday 31/3/24 | Closure of Canal Bay, yingina / Great Lake |
| Sunday 28/4/24 | Closure of most waters |
| Sunday 2/6/24 | Closure of designated rainbow trout waters, lakes Mackintosh and Rosebery and the lower section of Brumbys Creek, Tinamirakuna/Macquarie, Meander and South Esk rivers |
Different open seasons and fishing times apply to different waters around the state. This aims to provide the best angling opportunities and ensure sustainability.
Most waters are either
- brown trout waters - open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest the 30 April; or
- rainbow trout waters - open from the Saturday nearest to 1 October to the Sunday nearest 31 May.
The fishing times at some waters are restricted to one hour before sunrise to three hours after sunset.
All year round fishing
The following waters are open all year:
- Brushy Lagoon
- Craigbourne Lake
- yingina/Great Lake (other than Canal Bay)
- Huntsman Lake
- Huon River downstream from the Huonville Bridge
- Lake Barrington
- Lake Burbury
- Lake King William
- Lake Pedder
- Meadowbank Lake
- Pioneer Lake
- River Derwent downstream from the New Norfolk Bridge
- River Leven downstream from Whisky Creek
- kanamaluka/River Tamar, downstream from the Lower Charles St Bridge on the North Esk River and West Tamar Road Bridge on the South Esk River
Closed waters
Waters closed to fishing at all times include:
- All waters flowing into Lake Crescent excluding that section of the canal connecting lakes Crescent and Sorell below Interlaken Road (C527).
- Dogs Head Creek, Silver Plains Creek and Mountain Creek flowing into Lake Sorell and for a radius of 50 m below where that water flows into Lake Sorell.
- Curries River Reservoir, within a 400 m radius of the dam intake structure.
- Lake Fenton and its tributaries.
- Waters flowing into yingina/Great Lake, Lake Leake, Arthurs Lake and Dee Lagoon.
- Waters within a radius of 50 m below where that water flows into yingina/Great Lake, Lake Leake, Arthurs Lake and Dee Lagoon.
- Penstock Lagoon Numbers 1 and 2 canals above two white posts on opposite banks of those canals.
- Brushy Rivulet, flowing into Brushy Lagoon.
- All waters flowing into Talbots Lagoon.
- McPartlans Canal between lakes Pedder and Gordon.
- Craigbourne Lake, from the dam wall and associated infrastructure.
- Waters in which fish are maintained by the Director or by any other person or body with the consent of the Director for the purposes of fish culture or public display.
- Within 100 m of a fish trap maintained by the Director.
Indigenous Fish Waters
Certain waters are also designated as indigenous fish waters, which is mainly made up of the lower reaches of rivers and selected coastal lagoons. These are designed for people to fish for bream. No licence is required to fish in these waters, however if an unlicensed angler catches a trout or the angling season is closed at that time then the trout must be returned to the water unharmed.
