Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Derwent River below Meadowbank Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Derwent below Meadowbank: wild browns, sea-run trout and the odd rainbow or salmon between the dam and New Norfolk, with the Bureau’s gauge below the dam.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
0.79 m
Air / High
9 °C / 19 °C
Wind
SE 5 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 715.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Derwent River below Meadowbank rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 0.79 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 5 km/h, falling pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 19 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Excellent
Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:19 PM-1:19 AM, 11:48 AM-1:48 PM, 4:46 AM-5:46 AM. Similar at 20 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Tasmania requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$29.00. Tasmania fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with IFS Tasmania before you keep anything; the Rainbow trout page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Derwent River below Meadowbank today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:47), sunset (20:06), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM; minor 4:46 AM-5:46 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 715.1 (DERWENT RIVER - BELOW MEADOWBANK).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 715.1. Latest reading 2026-11-07 17:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp9 °C
High / Low19 °C / 8 °C
WindSE 5 km/h, gusts 9 km/h
Pressure1019.9 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain17% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:47 / 20:06
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Derwent River below Meadowbank
Today is the pick of the week on Derwent River below Meadowbank, at 4 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 11:48 AM-1:48 PM
- Minor period
- 4:46 AM-5:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:47 to 20:06
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 10 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Derwent River below Meadowbank: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open now Closes 3 May 2027. Most waters open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April; designated rainbow trout waters run from the Saturday nearest 1 October to the Sunday nearest 31 May. Rule as read from Inland Fisheries Service Tasmania on 2026-09-23.
The stocked lakes of the Snowy Mountains, the Victorian highlands and the Tasmanian central plateau. Closed seasons apply on the rivers: check the state rules. Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Brown trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open now Closes 3 May 2027. Most waters open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April; designated rainbow trout waters run from the Saturday nearest 1 October to the Sunday nearest 31 May. Rule as read from Inland Fisheries Service Tasmania on 2026-09-23.
The wild trout of the highland rivers and Tasmania's lakes. Spawns in autumn, hence the closed rivers through winter in NSW and Victoria. Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
When to come: the Derwent River below Meadowbank calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 13 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Derwent River below Meadowbank today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 16 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 12 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Tasmanian Inland Angling Licence, from A$29.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by IFS Tasmania and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Tasmania licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Anyone 14 or older needs a Tasmanian inland angling licence from the Inland Fisheries Service, sold for one rod or two; the 2026-27 prices are on our Tasmania page.
About this water
Derwent River below Meadowbank is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Derwent River below Meadowbank: the full guide
The reach
The Derwent below Meadowbank is the river between Meadowbank Dam and New Norfolk, running through the Derwent Valley past Gretna and Bushy Park over runs, pools and willows. The Inland Fisheries Service describes this part of the river as generally deep, fast, hard to wade and overgrown, and suggests the flow below Meadowbank Dam as a guide to conditions further down. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge below Meadowbank, station 715.1, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fishery, a wild population maintained by natural recruitment, according to the IFS, which adds that sea-run trout are a feature and that small numbers of rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon are present. Above the New Norfolk bridge the river follows the brown trout season, first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card. River blackfish occur above New Norfolk; Australian grayling are wholly protected.
Where to fish it
The IFS marks drift entry and exit points including Gretna, Bushy Park, Rayners Corner, Hayes, Windsor Corner, Bryn Estyn and New Norfolk, and recommends inflatables, kayaks or canoes for experienced paddlers. From the bank, most fish come close in under overhanging vegetation. Meadowbank Lake above has its own page.
Reading the report
Flows here follow the Meadowbank power station, and the IFS warns that levels can change quickly, so wear a lifejacket and use a wading staff when wading. It rates the Macquarie Plains gauge below 0.9 m as good and 0.5 to 0.7 m as ideal. The modelled water temperature on this page is an estimate and runs cool for most of the season.
Licence, access and rules
Anyone 14 or older needs a Tasmanian inland angling licence from the Inland Fisheries Service, sold for one rod or two; the 2026-27 prices are on our Tasmania page. The IFS Inland Fishing Code lists the Derwent downstream of the New Norfolk Bridge as open all year, and upstream of it as following the standard season.
Common questions
Is the Derwent open all year?
Downstream of the New Norfolk Bridge, yes, under the Inland Fishing Code; the reach above it, covered here, follows the brown trout season computed on the species card.
Are there sea-run trout below Meadowbank?
Yes. The IFS says sea-run trout can be caught up to the base of Meadowbank Dam and are a feature of the river.
Is fishing good at Derwent River below Meadowbank right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 715.1 — DERWENT RIVER - BELOW MEADOWBANK
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.