Rainbow trout
Fair
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.
Duck River at Scotchtown Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Duck River near Smithton in the far north-west: wild browns and blackfish in a lowland river, with a Bureau gauge at Scotchtown.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Level
0.34 m
Air / High
8 °C / 13 °C
Wind
SSW 14 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 14214.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Duck River at Scotchtown has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the sunniest hours. The gauge reads 0.34 m, easing 0.07 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 13 km/h, falling pressure near 1033 hPa and a high of 13 °C. Water sits around 8 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Fair
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: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Similar at 13 °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 Duck River at Scotchtown today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:02), sunset (18:19), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 14214.1 (DUCK RIVER US SCOTCHTOWN ROAD BRIDGE).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 14214.1. Latest reading 2026-09-25 08:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp8 °C
High / Low13 °C / 4 °C
WindSSW 14 km/h, gusts 33 km/h
Pressure1032.8 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:02 / 18:19
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Duck River at Scotchtown
Today is the pick of the week on Duck River at Scotchtown, at 4 out of 5. 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: today, 26 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 26 Sept — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 06:02 to 18:19
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Duck River at Scotchtown: 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 Duck River at Scotchtown 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 Duck River at Scotchtown today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 16 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Thu, 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 16 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at slow. High of 13 °C, wind to 8 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
At Scotchtown the Tasmanian inland angling licence is needed from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Duck River at Scotchtown is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Duck River at Scotchtown: the full guide
The Duck at Scotchtown
The Duck River runs through the dairy country of the far north-west to the sea at Smithton on Duck Bay; Scotchtown is the farming locality on the river just south of the town. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Scotchtown Road bridge supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Stanley has its own page.
Species and seasons
Wild brown trout and river blackfish are the fish of the Duck River, the trout in the runs and pools on the fly, lures and bait, the blackfish in the snags at dusk. The Duck is not listed separately in the Inland Fishing Code, so it follows the general river rules, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card, with a bag of five fish over 220 mm. The Duck is also one of the rivers opened to whitebait for a short spring season, except near its weir.
Where to fish it
The Scotchtown Road bridge and the reserves near Smithton give access to the Duck, and anglers walk the banks between the crossings. The estuary and Duck Bay are separate waters under the sea fishing rules. The runs near the bridge and the snag-lined pools downstream toward Smithton hold browns and blackfish, and a bait rod fished at dusk is the blackfish method.
Planning a visit
Scotchtown is on the southern edge of Smithton in the far north-west, and Smithton has supplies and accommodation. Bring trout gear and a bait rod for blackfish at dusk, and allow time for Stanley and the Tarkine, both a short drive away.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Duck rising after rain across the north-west and falling through summer. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool for much of the season; pressure and sky build the score at Scotchtown.
Licence, access and rules
At Scotchtown the Tasmanian inland angling licence is needed from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The general river rules, the blackfish limits and the whitebait rules are in the Inland Fishing Code in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Duck River open for trout?
From the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
What can I catch in the Duck River?
Wild brown trout and river blackfish.
Do I need a licence on the Duck River?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Duck River at Scotchtown 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 14214.1 — DUCK RIVER US SCOTCHTOWN ROAD BRIDGE
- 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.