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.
Montagu River at Stuarts Road Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Montagu River at Stuarts Road in the far north-west: brown trout and whitebait water near Smithton, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.02 m
Air / High
10 °C / 16 °C
Wind
SW 11 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 14200.1, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Montagu River at Stuarts Road is a cold-water proposition today: bait on the bottom and a long soak. The gauge reads 1.02 m, easing 0.22 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 16 °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. Similar at 14 °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 Montagu River at Stuarts Road today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:05), sunset (18:19), 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 14200.1 (MONTAGU RIVER AT STUARTS ROAD).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 14200.1. Latest reading 2026-09-24 08:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp10 °C
High / Low16 °C / 10 °C
WindSW 11 km/h, gusts 21 km/h
Pressure1025.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain97% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset06:05 / 18:19
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~8 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Montagu River at Stuarts Road
The best day on Montagu River at Stuarts Road 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
- 06:05 to 18:19
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 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 Montagu River at Stuarts Road: 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 Montagu River at Stuarts Road 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 Montagu River at Stuarts Road 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 16 °C, wind to 19 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 14 °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 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 is needed on the Montagu from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees.
About this water
Montagu River at Stuarts Road is a river in Tasmania, Australia, covered from the Tasmania reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Montagu River at Stuarts Road: the full guide
The Montagu at Stuarts Road
The Montagu River runs through the dairy and forest country of the far north-west, west of Smithton, to the sea at Montagu near Robbins Passage; Stuarts Road is a crossing on its lower reaches. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Stuarts Road supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Duck River and Stanley have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Brown trout are the fish of the Montagu, with blackfish in the snags, on the fly, lures and bait. The general river rules apply: open from the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April, computed on the species card. The Montagu is also one of the rivers the Code opens to whitebait fishing for a short spring season.
Where to fish it
The road crossings west of Smithton give access to the river; much of the land is farmland.
Planning a visit
Smithton has supplies and accommodation, and Stanley is close. Bring light trout gear and a bait rod for blackfish.
The river through the year
The Montagu runs through the far north-west, where the rain comes in from the Southern Ocean through the winter and the river runs full and brown from autumn to spring. The trout season opens in August with the river high; the fish keep to the edges and the slower water. The whitebait season, when the Code opens it, brings the whitebait runs up from the sea in spring, and the trout follow them. Summer brings lower water and the best of the trout fishing on still evenings. The pools under the tea tree hold the trout in the low water of February and March.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Montagu rising after rain across the north-west. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cool for much of the season; pressure and sky build the score at Stuarts Road.
Licence, access and rules
The Tasmanian inland angling licence is needed on the Montagu from age 14; our Tasmania licence page has the fees. The general river rules and the whitebait rules are in the Inland Fishing Code in the sources.
Common questions
When is the Montagu open for trout?
From the first Saturday of August to the Sunday nearest 30 April.
Can I catch whitebait in the Montagu?
Yes, in the short spring season the Inland Fishing Code sets for listed rivers, under its rules.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes: the Tasmanian inland angling licence, from age 14.
Is fishing good at Montagu River at Stuarts Road 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 14200.1 — MONTAGU RIVER AT STUARTS ROAD
- 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.