Strahan and Macquarie Harbour fishing spots

Macquarie Harbour is a huge, tannin-stained harbour behind the narrow Hells Gates entrance, with Strahan on its northern shore. Fresh water lies over salt water here, and sea-run trout, Australian salmon and the odd farmed Atlantic salmon feed in it, with cod, flounder and couta too, while Ocean Beach outside takes the full Southern Ocean swell. Skates and rays are protected to save the endangered Maugean skate.

Updated 9 Oct 2026

7 spots here: 5 fished from land and 2 reached only by boat or kayak. Seasons follow our West Coast species list for Tasmania. Positions are a guide only, not for navigation.

Under each spot, "Forecast for this spot" opens the app's forecast worked out for that spot: Go, Marginal or No-go for each day of the week ahead, with the best times, wind, waves and tide. Open the forecast.

Spots at a glance

7 spots: Strahan and Macquarie Harbour
Spot	Type	Fished from	Water	Marine park
1. Ocean Beach	Beach	Land-based	Ocean coast	–
2. Macquarie Heads	Channel	Land-based and boat	Bay, estuary or river	–
3. Swan Basin	Bay	Boat and kayak	Bay, estuary or river	–
4. Regatta Point, Strahan	Headland	Land-based	Bay, estuary or river	–
5. Strahan wharf & boat-ramp jetty	Wharf	Land-based and boat	Bay, estuary or river	–
6. Lettes Bay	Bay	Land-based, boat and kayak	Bay, estuary or river	–
7. Kelly Basin	Bay	Boat	Bay, estuary or river	–

1. Ocean Beach

Type: Beach · ocean coast (beach or rocks)
Access: Land-based. Long west-facing beach a few kilometres from Strahan by sealed road.
What's good here: In season in October: Australian salmon and barracouta.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Only fishable in light easterlies or calm; westerly swell is huge. Faces W.
Note: A listed hotspot for Australian salmon: fish the gutters with metals or baits when the swell drops.
Safety: Southern Ocean surf with big waves, rips and sneaker sets: never wade deep.
Zone: Outside Macquarie Harbour; no refuge or marine reserve. Guide only, not for navigation: check fishing.tas.gov.au.
Map: -42.19820, 145.24330 · Open in Google Maps (position: Ocean Beach, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

2. Macquarie Heads

Type: Channel · bay, estuary or river
Access: Land-based and boat. This pin marks the heads. The Macquarie Heads campground and its narrow boat-ramp jetty (parking, toilets) are about 2 km south-east along the harbour shore.
What's good here: Peak in October: sea-run brown trout. Also in season: Australian salmon, barracouta and greenback flounder.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Best in light easterlies; westerlies make the entrance wild.
Note: Official hotspot where salmon and trout move with the tide just inside Hells Gates; fish the shore near the campground and ramp.
Safety: Hells Gates is a narrow, shallow entrance with strong currents: only cross in a proper weather window.
Zone: Macquarie Harbour: no recreational gillnets and no taking skates or rays (Maugean skate). No marine reserve nearby. Guide only, not for navigation: check fishing.tas.gov.au.
Map: -42.21090, 145.21600 · Open in Google Maps (position: Macquarie Heads, ABS suburbs and localities)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

3. Swan Basin

Type: Bay · bay, estuary or river
Access: Boat and kayak. Small boat or kayak from Strahan or Macquarie Heads.
What's good here: Peak in October: sea-run brown trout. Also in season: Australian salmon, greenback flounder, silver trevally and yelloweye mullet.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Sheltered in light winds; westerlies chop up the harbour.
Note: Shallow basin inside the heads for salmon, trout, flounder and trevally.
Safety: Shallow water: watch the tide.
Zone: Macquarie Harbour: no recreational gillnets and no taking skates or rays (Maugean skate). No marine reserve nearby. Guide only, not for navigation: check fishing.tas.gov.au.
Map: -42.20400, 145.27830 · Open in Google Maps (position: Swan Basin, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

4. Regatta Point, Strahan

Type: Headland · bay, estuary or river
Access: Land-based. Point beside the old railway station on the western side of Strahan.
What's good here: Peak in October: sea-run brown trout. Also in season: Australian salmon, bearded rock cod and yelloweye mullet.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Sheltered in northerlies.
Note: Harbour edge for trout and salmon on lures; cod on baits near the bottom.
Safety: Cold, dark tannin water: keep children back from edges.
Zone: Macquarie Harbour: no recreational gillnets and no taking skates or rays (Maugean skate). No marine reserve nearby. Guide only, not for navigation: check fishing.tas.gov.au.
Map: -42.16140, 145.32740 · Open in Google Maps (position: Regatta Point, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

5. Strahan wharf & boat-ramp jetty

Type: Wharf · bay, estuary or river
Access: Land-based and boat. Boat-ramp jetty and the Esplanade wharf in the village; the wharf is busy with commercial and tourist boats.
What's good here: Peak in October: sea-run brown trout. Also in season: Australian salmon, bearded rock cod, yelloweye mullet and barracouta.
Best tide: Boat-ramp jetty has deep water at all tides (official site note).
Best wind: Sheltered in northerlies; southerlies blow across the harbour. Faces S.
Note: Deep water right in town: trout and salmon on lures, cod and mullet on baits. Escaped farmed Atlantic salmon sometimes turn up.
Safety: Working wharf: give way to tour and fishing boats.
Zone: Macquarie Harbour: no recreational gillnets and no taking skates or rays (Maugean skate). No marine reserve nearby. Guide only, not for navigation: check fishing.tas.gov.au.
Map: -42.15720, 145.32790 · Open in Google Maps (position: Strahan Harbour, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

6. Lettes Bay

Type: Bay · bay, estuary or river
Access: Land-based, boat and kayak. Small bay and shack community south-east of Strahan village.
What's good here: Peak in October: sea-run brown trout. Also in season: Australian salmon, greenback flounder and yelloweye mullet.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Sheltered in northerlies.
Note: Listed hotspot: quiet water for trout and salmon on small lures, flounder in the shallows.
Safety: Shallow edges and soft bottom.
Zone: Macquarie Harbour: no recreational gillnets and no taking skates or rays (Maugean skate). No marine reserve nearby. Guide only, not for navigation: check fishing.tas.gov.au.
Map: -42.17790, 145.34640 · Open in Google Maps (position: Lettes Bay, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

7. Kelly Basin

Type: Bay · bay, estuary or river
Access: Boat. Boat only, a long run across the harbour from Strahan.
What's good here: Peak in October: sea-run brown trout. Also in season: Australian salmon and bearded rock cod.
Best tide: Not confirmed for this spot yet.
Best wind: Sheltered from most winds once inside.
Note: Remote basin in the harbour's east for trout and salmon around river inflows; cod on the bottom.
Safety: Long harbour crossing: westerlies build big chop; carry a VHF and tell someone your plans.
Zone: Macquarie Harbour: no recreational gillnets and no taking skates or rays (Maugean skate). No marine reserve nearby. Guide only, not for navigation: check fishing.tas.gov.au.
Map: -42.36060, 145.54360 · Open in Google Maps (position: Kelly Basin, Composite Gazetteer of Australia)
Forecast: Forecast for this spot

Boat ramps

No Tasmanian boat ramp dataset with an open licence was found, so we don't list ramps here yet; the spots' access notes say where a ramp sits beside a jetty.

What's biting here in October?

In peak season at Strahan and Macquarie Harbour in October: sea-run brown trout, black bream and gummy shark. Of the 25 species our West Coast list has for this part of the coast, 3 peak in October 2026 and 10 more are in season.

Peak in October: sea-run brown trout, black bream and gummy shark.

Also in season: Australian salmon, yelloweye mullet, greenback flounder, barracouta, bearded rock cod, silver trevally, southern sand flathead, southern bluespotted flathead, jackass morwong and bluethroat and purple wrasse.

In closed season now (no take): striped trumpeter (1 September to 31 October).

Out of season in October: southern bluefin tuna (best Mar–Jun).

Seen now and then, so not rated: tiger flathead, southern calamari, Gould's squid, southern garfish, yellowtail kingfish, albacore, snapper, King George whiting, blue warehou and shortfin mako shark.

Seasons are closure-aware: a species is never listed as in season, for the area or at a spot, while it is closed there; a closure for part of the area says where. Species links go to our South East Queensland species guides, with Queensland's limits: Tasmania's own size and bag limits are on the official rules page.

Can you fish here? Rules and safety

Rod and line (incl. squid jigs) in marine waters: no licence. Licence for rock lobster pot/ring/dive, abalone, scallop, set line and graball, mullet or beach seine nets: 1 Nov 2026-31 Oct 2027 $68.60 first licence, $9.80 each extra; concession $39.20 (Rules Update, 21 Sep 2026). Until 31 Oct 2026 the 2025-26 fees apply ($66.85 first licence, $9.55 each extra, concession $38.20); a rock lobster licence bought before 12 Oct 2026 expires 31 Oct 2026. Licence details. Size and bag limits and closed seasons apply: Tasmania's limits (checked 9 Oct 2026).

Rules at Strahan and Macquarie Harbour

No recreational gillnetting anywhere in Macquarie Harbour (since 1 Nov 2024).
No skates or rays may be taken in Macquarie Harbour: release the endangered Maugean skate unharmed.
Trout in marine waters: bag 12; above the seaward limit of rivers an IFS licence and inland season apply.
Fishing inside marine farm leases needs the leaseholder's permission.

Marine parks and no-take zones

Zones are a guide only, not for navigation: check the official maps before you fish.

Safety at Strahan and Macquarie Harbour

Tasmanian water is cold all year: a fall in quickly brings on cold shock, so wear a lifejacket on rocks, breakwalls and in small boats.
Hells Gates is a narrow, shallow entrance with strong tidal currents; only pass in a settled weather window.
Macquarie Harbour gets very rough in westerly weather; keep clear of salmon farm pens and moorings.

Tasmania: official links

Read the official forecast and warnings in the Bureau of Meteorology's own words: Tas coastal and local waters forecast map and current warnings.

Boating: Tasmania boating safety, crossing coastal bars and lifejacket rules. Lifejackets: Must wear in a recreational motor boat or tender under 6m while under power; under-12s in any motor boat under power (not in a cabin); and in kayaks, canoes, SUPs and dinghies.

Heading out on the water? Log on and off with Tas Maritime Radio (volunteer coast station network). Log in with Tas Maritime Radio: give your location and intentions and advise when you're back. Radio room staffed 0700-1900 daily; after hours for urgent/emergency calls.

Marine parks and closed areas: Tasmanian marine reserves (state waters), Fishing Tas app / area restrictions and Australian Marine Parks (six around Tasmania).

Cold water: Sea temperatures are 8-18 C, and a fall into cold water makes drowning much more likely. Wear a lifejacket. More.

Tasmania's official rules: size and bag limits and closed seasons and areas (checked 9 Oct 2026).

Emergency: 000 (112 from mobiles) · VHF channel 16 for distress.

Nearby fishing areas

Devonport and Port Sorell (about 149 km north-east)
Stanley and the north-west coast (about 150 km north)
Tamar River and George Town (about 175 km north-east)
Hobart and the Derwent (about 181 km south-east)

Distances are between the middle of each area. Every area in Tasmania · all fishing spot guides.

Sources and checked dates

Spot and ramp positions: Composite Gazetteer of Australia (Geoscience Australia and the state and territory naming authorities), CC BY 4.0 and ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3 (2021) (Australian Bureau of Statistics), CC BY 4.0; gazetteer and ABS positions through our place index. Guide only, not for navigation.
Spot research checked 9 Oct 2026 and fact-checked 9 Oct 2026; species seasons and rules checked 9 Oct 2026; safety links checked 9 Oct 2026. Text in our own words.
Research sources: fishing.tas.gov.au (Spots (Ocean Beach, Macquarie Heads, Swan Basin, Strahan Public Jetty, Regatta Point, Lettes Bay, Kelly Basin), species, gillnet ban, Maugean skate); fishing.tas.gov.au (Official Macquarie Harbour fishing map: hotspots Macquarie Heads and Ocean Beach; no skates or rays); mast.tas.gov.au (Hells Gates weather window; harbour very rough in westerlies); fishing.tas.gov.au (Fishing near marine farms); services.thelist.tas.gov.au (LIST WildFisheries layers used for the zone check and jetty descriptions (Strahan, Macquarie Heads)); mast.tas.gov.au (MAST lifejacket rules and advice).
Every source and licence: Sources and disclaimers.