Rainbow trout
Slow
Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Derwent River below Meadowbank Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Derwent below Meadowbank: browns, rainbows and the odd salmon in the river between the dam and New Norfolk, with the Bureau’s gauge below the dam.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.77 m
Air / High
11 °C / 20 °C
Wind
NW 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 715.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Derwent River below Meadowbank has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 0.77 m, easing 0.38 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NW around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 20 °C. Water sits around 8 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Slow
The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
Tie on: Bait on the bottom, running sinker · Heavy blade, deep · Slow-rolled swimbait · Live bait, deepest hole. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 12 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. 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 (05:57), sunset (18:12), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% 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 2026-09-23 17:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low20 °C / 11 °C
WindNW 4 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1023.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain99% cloud, 98%
Sunrise / Sunset05:57 / 18:12
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Derwent River below Meadowbank
The best day on Derwent River below Meadowbank this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Sunday, 27 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 25 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:57 to 18:12
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 98%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
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
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from 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. Winter lakes: bait on the bottom in the deeper bays through the middle of the day, or polaroiding the shallows on the bright days in Tasmania.
Brown trout
Open season from October to June in NSW and Victoria; Tasmania from 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. The lake fishery: bait or slow lures in the deeper bays; the rivers are closed in NSW and Victoria.
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 8 °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 dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 20 °C, wind to 6 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at fair. High of 18 °C, wind to 6 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at fair. High of 15 °C, wind to 11 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
The Tasmanian inland angling licence from the Inland Fisheries Service applies from age 14, one rod or two; our Tasmania licence page has the 2026-27 fees.
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 the Meadowbank Dam and New Norfolk, running through the Derwent Valley’s hop fields and farms past Gretna and Bushy Park over runs, pools and willows, with the road crossings and the reserves along the Lyell Highway. It is trout water in the lowland Derwent, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge below Meadowbank supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Derwent below the New Norfolk bridge is open all year under the IFS list; this reach follows the season.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are wild and fish the runs and the pools on bait, lures and the fly; rainbow trout are stocked; Atlantic salmon escape from the farms upstream and are taken from time to time; and the reach follows the brown trout season the Inland Fisheries Service publishes, first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card. Bream reach the tidal river at New Norfolk under the indigenous fish waters rules.
Where to fish it
The crossings and the reserves at Gretna and Bushy Park give bank access to the runs and the pools, drift boats cover the river from the dam down to New Norfolk, and wading is possible on a low release; the runs and the pool heads are the trout water. Meadowbank Lake above has its own page.
Reading the report
The chart follows the Meadowbank release, and a big hydro release makes the river high and fast; a low release shows the gravel and makes the fly fishing. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool for most of the season; the valley funnels the wind; pressure and sky fill the score.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence from the Inland Fisheries Service applies from age 14, one rod or two; our Tasmania licence page has the 2026-27 fees. The crossings and the reserves are public; the Inland Fishing Code, with the season and the all-year listing for the river below New Norfolk, is in the sources.
Common questions
Is the Derwent open all year?
Below the New Norfolk bridge, yes, under the Inland Fisheries Service list; the reach above, covered here, follows the brown trout season computed on the species card.
Do I need a licence on the Derwent?
Yes, from age 14: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, one rod or two.
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: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
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
- 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.