In response to the recent oil spill, Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) has advised that it has extended the Prohibited Area declaration for Lake Rosebery until 1159 hours on Friday, 14 February 2025, unless cancelled sooner.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has reported that work is continuing at Lake Rosebery to clean up the estimated 4,000L of oil that was flushed from an old storage tank earlier this month, and approximately 26 kilometres of shoreline has now been confirmed to be affected.

Don’t cancel your fishing trip to the west coast though, there are many other outstanding waters to visit on the west coast.  We will highlight some of the best below:

A short drive from Tullah, Lake Mackintosh is one of the most picturesque lakes in Tasmania. Good sized brown and rainbow trout are in the lake and all angling methods are successful. Hot spots include the northern end where the Vale River flows in, the Brougham inlet and the Tunnel End. Concentrating on the edges of the drowned timber often produces for lure anglers. It can be advisable on warmer days to use either lead lines or deeper running lures, and green and gold are the go-to colours of many west coast anglers! The tunnel end is a hot spot for rainbow trout, with some very large fish caught there occasionally.  For the fly anglers, wind lane fishing can be extremely productive, as can using mudeye imitations in the low light hours. Early morning midge feeders are also a highlight, and beetle falls can occur on warmer days. Good campsites can be found at the boat ramp, and there are still two $5000 dollar tagged fish to be caught.

Talbots Lagoon is renowned as one of the best fisheries in the state. The lagoon contains a good population of brown and rainbow trout and all methods of angling are successful. This time of year bait anglers will do exceptionally well fishing mudeyes under floats. Traditional baits such as worms and grubs will also produce results. For the lure anglers, good catches are regularly reported by those anglers using soft plastics and hard body bibbed lures. Owing to the lagoon being relatively shallow with a lot of drowned timber, being able to fish from a kayak is a major advantage for lure fishing. For the fly anglers, Talbots Lagoon has it all. Good tailing fish occur in low light conditions after rains when the lake is rising. There is a large population of mayflies with regular dun/spinner hatches, along with plenty of damsel and dragon flies. Fishing with mudeye imitations is also a highlight in low light conditions.

Lake Burbury is another fantastic option on the west coast. Currently this is especially true with the lake completely full and spilling – a rare occurrence during summer. All methods of angling are successful and the lake is teeming with both brown and rainbow trout. Lure anglers will do well with traditional lures and soft plastics. For the bait anglers, mudeye fishing under a float is a highlight this time of year, and other baits such as worms and grubs are successful. For the fly anglers Lake Burbury is reknown as one of the best early morning midge waters in the state. During the day, the wind lanes will normally contain plenty of trout, and using mudeye imitations in low light conditions is also successful. With the lake currently full, tailing fish should also be found at dawn and dusk in shallow bays around the lake fringes.

Lake Plimsoll started this season with a bang following the winter stocking of two kilogram brook trout. Brook trout are a species on many Tasmanian trout anglers bucket list, and we are happy to report that there are still plenty of fish being caught. Brook trout fishing is notorious for being very challenging at times and outstanding at others, so going with plenty of patience is recommended! All methods of angling are permitted, with lure fishing with bright coloured lures around inflowing water often successful. Although modest beetle falls can occur and the lake contains a good population of mudeyes, most fly anglers choose to blind prospect with wet flies. Over the road, Lake Selina is only a short five minute walk and is very picturesque.

For those transiting from the north of the state via the Cradle Mountain Link Road, Lake Lea and the Vale River are two under rated gems that are well worth a visit. Lake Lea is renown as an exceptional lure fishery on overcast windy days, with the best fishing occurring in the deeper water of the neck and the north of the lake. Fly anglers tend to prefer the southern end of the lake due to it being shallower with prolific insect life. Nearby, the Vale River is renown for its large instream population of trout that can be taken by all methods. Large trout exist in the deep backwaters and lagoons along the river for those who are willing to put in the time to find them.

Although Lake Rosebery is currently unavailable to anglers, there are plenty of fishery gems on the west coast still to explore.

Please keep well away from Lake Rosebery to allow the EPA to continue their hard work cleaning up the oil. As further updates on the spill are released we will post them here on our website.