Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Lake Mackenzie Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Fisher River storage at the north-west entry to the Western Lakes: wild browns, bait on one handheld rod only, good launching, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1116.87 m9,479 ML
Air / High
4 °C / 11 °C
Wind
NNE 7 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 cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 1116.87 m, up 0.15 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNE around 6 km/h, steady pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 11 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:50 AM-1:50 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: 11:21 PM-1:21 AM, 11:50 AM-1:50 PM, 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. Warmer at 14 °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 Lake Mackenzie today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:51), sunset (20:06), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:50 AM-1:50 PM; minor 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. New Moon, 0% 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 2026-11-07 00:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp4 °C
High / Low11 °C / 1 °C
WindNNE 7 km/h, gusts 15 km/h
Pressure1021.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:51 / 20:06
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Mackenzie
The best day on Lake Mackenzie this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:21 PM-1:21 AM and 11:50 AM-1:50 PM
- Minor period
- 4:50 AM-5:50 AM
- Sun
- 05:51 to 20:06
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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
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 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 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 Lake Mackenzie 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 11 °C, wind to 19 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 4 °C, wind to 26 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 9 °C, wind to 23 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.
Storage levels
Compare it with every other storage in the state on Tasmania dam levels today.
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 was formed in 1972 by damming the Fisher River for hydro-electric generation, according to the Inland Fisheries Service, and it is the north-west entry point to the Western Lakes, high on the Great Western Tiers. Hydro Tasmania sends its water through canals, tunnels and pipes down a 650-metre drop to the Fisher Power Station and on into Lake Parangana, and IFS warns that the lake is subject to large fluctuations. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the Lake 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, managed under the Western Lakes Fishery Management Plan, 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, computed on the species card. Bait anglers may use one handheld rod only, and the Code’s bag is five fish over 300 mm with no more than two over 500 mm.
Where to fish it
IFS notes that boating is permitted with good launching facilities, and that trolling, lure and fly casting and bait fishing with a hand-held rod all catch fish. From the shore, the rocky points and bays are walked and polaroided for cruising fish on bright days, and a boat gets to the far bays, which see few anglers. Mackenzie is one of the few waters inside the World Heritage Area where the Code allows motorised boating.
Planning a visit
Lake Mackenzie is high country above Mole Creek, and Mole Creek and Deloraine are the nearest towns with supplies; for vehicle track conditions in the Western Lakes, IFS points anglers to the Parks and Wildlife Service field centre at the Great Western Tiers. 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 fall in any month. The chart shows the hydro storage and its large swings. 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, and the IFS page for the lake are in the sources; the IFS page gives a 220 mm minimum where the Code table says 300 mm, and the Code is the legal text.
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?
Lake Mackenzie opens with 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
- 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.