Two fishermen have captured the moment they saved one very wet wombat, found struggling in a Tasmanian lake.

Craig Wilson and his stepfather Bob Wilton were out trout fishing on Woods Lake in central-northern Tasmania when they saw an animal they first took to be a platypus about 250m offshore.

Upon closer inspection it proved to be a floundering wombat.

“The wombat was trying to stay afloat above the water … he was definitely struggling,” Mr Wilson told The Advocate .

The pair tried fishing the wombat out of the water with their net, only to have it resist and try and climb out.

They were eventually able to pull the animal aboard their boat, where it showed signs of being “pretty worn out”.

Mr Wilson said he believes that had it not been for their timely intervention, the wombat would have most likely died.

“If we weren't there in the lake he would have drowned for sure, the way the wind was blowing,” he said.

“Once we got to shore, we got him out of the boat and let him go, he just went on his merry way and strolled back into the bush."

Wombats are land-based species, however there have been occasional sightings in the past of wombats taking to the water.