Open Dates and Times

Most inland waters including rivers are open in line with the brown trout season from the first Saturday of August in any year to the Sunday nearest 31 May in the next year.

The exceptions include a smaller number of designated rainbow trout waters, closed waters, waters open within specific times and waters open all year. These exceptions are listed below. The regulations that apply to individual waters can also be searched via the Waters database on this website and are listed in the Tasmanian Inland Fishing Code 2011-12.

Rainbow waters

Rainbow waters are open from the Saturday nearest 1 October in any year to the Sunday nearest 31 May in the next year. These include Dee Lagoon, Lagoon of Islands, Lake Rowallan, Lake Skinner, Mersey River above Lake Rowallan, River Leven upstream of the bridge on Loongana Road, Upper Mersey Lakes and the upstream sections of the two Weld Rivers, one in the North and the other in the South of the state. 
Waters open all year

Waters open for 12 months are Craigbourne Dam, Great Lake, Lake Barrington, Lake Burbury, Hunstman Lake, Lake Pedder, Meadowbank Lake and Brushy Lagoon.

Closed waters
Waters closed to fishing at all times include:
• Waters flowing into Lake Crescent including the canal connecting lakes Crescent and Sorell
• Waters flowing into Lake Sorell and for a radius of 50 m below where Dogs Head Creek, Silver Plains Creek and Mountain Creek flow into that lake
• Curries River Reservoir, within a 400 m radius of the dam intake structure
• Lake Fenton and its tributaries
• Waters flowing into Great Lake, lakes Leake, Arthurs, Rowallan (except Mersey River), Dee Lagoon and Lagoon of Islands
• Waters within a radius of 50 m below where that water flows into Great Lake, Lake Leake, Arthurs Lake and Dee Lagoon
• Penstock Lagoon Nos 1 and 2 canals above two white posts on opposite banks of those canals
• Brushy Rivulet, flowing into Brushy Lagoon
• McPartlans Canal between lakes Pedder and Gordon
• Sisters Creek between a white post about 100 m below the bridge in Bird Land Nature Park and a second post about 100 m above that bridge
• All ponds, raceways and fish culture ponds maintained by or operated under the consent of the Service (the exception being the Plenty River which is reserved for anglers with a disability)
• Fishing is prohibited within 100 m of a fish trap maintained by the Service

• Lake Sorell is closed until further notice in order to assist the IFS in its effort to decrease the population of carp following an outbreak in 2009-10.
Waters opened within specific times

Lake Crescent, Huntsman Lake, Curries River Reservoir, Craigbourne Dam, Brushy Lagoon and Four Springs Lake are closed from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
Restricted angler access
Risdon Brook Dam and the Plenty River adjacent to the Salmon Ponds, are reserved for anglers with a disability (typically members of the Tasmanian Transport Access Scheme).

The Tasmanian Inland Fishing Code 2011-12 provides a summary of the general rules and exceptions, and duplicates some of the information in this section. The Waters database provided on this website lists most of the lakes and lagoons in Tasmania and the specific fishing rules that apply to each.

Conditions imposed by other persons

Private owners, local councils or management authorities control access to some Tasmanian waters. You should check with the owner of private property before entering their land.

Except for a Registered Private Fishery, you need an angling licence to fish in all inland waters, even if you are fishing in a farm dam on private property. Only a private fishery registered by the Service can charge a fee to fish and make rules about how you can fish.