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.
Lake Mackenzie Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The high lake on the Fisher River above Mole Creek: wild browns under the Great Western Tiers, bait on one handheld rod only, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1117.05 m8,940 ML
Air / High
3 °C / 13 °C
Wind
SSW 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 629.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Mackenzie is in its winter rhythm: deep, slow and around the middle of the day. The gauge reads 1117.05 m, easing 0.86 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSW around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 13 °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 4 °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 Lake Mackenzie today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:59), sunset (18:13), 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 629.1 (MACKENZIE LAKE - AT DAM).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 629.1. Latest reading 2026-09-23 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp3 °C
High / Low13 °C / 3 °C
WindSSW 6 km/h, gusts 18 km/h
Pressure1023.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain96% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:59 / 18:13
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Mackenzie
The best day on Lake Mackenzie this week looks like Saturday 26 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: Saturday, 26 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
- 05:59 to 18:13
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Mackenzie: 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 Lake Mackenzie 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 Lake Mackenzie 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 13 °C, wind to 14 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 9 °C, wind to 10 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 8 °C, wind to 13 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
Fishing Lake Mackenzie needs the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Lake Mackenzie is a lake in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Lake Mackenzie: the full guide
Lake Mackenzie
Lake Mackenzie is the storage on the Fisher River high on the Great Western Tiers above Mole Creek, at the edge of the plateau country of the Walls of Jerusalem, reached by the long gravel road that climbs from the Mersey valley. It is a cold, exposed lake of rocky shores, pencil pines and bare hills, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Mackenzie dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page. Lake Rowallan and Lake Parangana on the Mersey have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Wild brown trout are the fish of Lake Mackenzie, cruising the rocky shallows and the margins, and taken on the fly, on lures and on bait. The Inland Fishing Code lists the lake with the general season, 1 August 2026 to 2 May 2027, the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card. Bait anglers may use one handheld rod only, and the bag is five fish over 300 mm with no more than two over 500 mm.
Where to fish it
The dam and the shore near the access road are the easiest spots on Lake Mackenzie, and the rocky points and bays along the eastern shore are walked and polaroided for cruising fish on bright days. A small boat or a kayak under Hydro Tasmania’s rules gets to the far bays, which see few anglers.
Planning a visit
The road to Lake Mackenzie climbs from the Mersey valley above Mole Creek and can be closed by snow; Mole Creek and Deloraine are the nearest towns with supplies. Carry warm, waterproof clothing even in summer, and remember the one-rod rule for bait fishing on this lake.
Reading this report here
Mackenzie sits high on the Tiers and the wind row decides whether the day is possible; a westerly can make the lake dangerous for small craft. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cold for most of the season, and snow can close the road in any month. The chart shows the hydro storage. Pressure and sky build the score at Lake Mackenzie, and the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Fishing Lake Mackenzie needs the Tasmanian inland angling licence from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The Inland Fishing Code, with Mackenzie’s one-rod bait rule, its bag and the season, is in the sources; the road and the shore are open under Hydro Tasmania’s rules.
Common questions
Can I bait fish at Lake Mackenzie?
Yes, with one handheld rod only: the Inland Fishing Code sets that rule for Lake Mackenzie and Lake Augusta.
When is Lake Mackenzie open?
In the general season, 1 August 2026 to 2 May 2027 this year.
What is the bag at Lake Mackenzie?
Five fish over 300 mm, with no more than two over 500 mm, as the Code lists it.
Is fishing good at Lake Mackenzie 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 629.1 — MACKENZIE LAKE - AT DAM
- 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.