Tailor
Excellent
The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Batemans Bay Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Clyde River and its bay on the Eurobodalla coast: bream on the oyster leases, flathead on the flats, snapper on the reefs and a marine park to read first.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 12:58 am model
Air / High
14 °C / 23 °C
Wind
WNW 11 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Batemans Bay is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WNW around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 23 °C. Tides: high 7:10 am and 7:14 pm, low 12:58 am and 1:09 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 18 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Fair
Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Fair
The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Cooler at 13 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
New South Wales requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$7.00. New South Wales fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing bream here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD NSW before you keep anything; the Bream page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Batemans Bay today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:43), sunset (17:58), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Tides (modelled)
Modelled sea level curve from Open-Meteo Marine for these coordinates, datum mean sea level. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
A model, not the official prediction: times can drift by tens of minutes inside bays and estuaries. Check the Bureau of Meteorology tide predictions for the exact times before you rely on them.
Sat
LOW12:58 am-0.63 m
HIGH7:10 am0.55 m
LOW1:09 pm-0.51 m
HIGH7:14 pm0.62 m
Sun
LOW1:30 am-0.64 m
HIGH7:45 am0.60 m
LOW1:50 pm-0.62 m
HIGH7:58 pm0.56 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low23 °C / 13 °C
WindWNW 11 km/h, gusts 20 km/h
Pressure1023.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain43% cloud, 93%
Sunrise / Sunset05:43 / 17:58
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~18 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Batemans Bay
The best day on Batemans Bay this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, at 5 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: Thursday, 1 Oct — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:43 to 17:58
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 93%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Batemans Bay: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Best: November to April
Dusky flathead in the eastern estuaries, sand flathead in the southern bays. An ambush predator lying on sand and mud edges waiting for whatever the tide brings. Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Best: summer and autumn, especially after rain
Jewfish. The big silver prize of the estuaries, breakwalls and surf beaches: nocturnal, tide-driven and unforgiving of noise. The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; August to September on Fraser Island
The surf and rock fish of the east coast, running north in autumn and winter. Fast, toothy and best at dawn, dusk and into the dark. The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
When to come: the Batemans Bay 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
Bream
Flathead
Mulloway
Tailor
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 18 °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 Batemans Bay today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 23 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7.00, 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 DPIRD NSW and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the New South Wales licence page before you keep anything.
Access
You need the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt on you, whether it is the three-day one at A$7 or the year at A$35; the New South Wales licence page lists every duration and the exemptions.
About this water
Batemans Bay is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Batemans Bay: the full guide
The bay and the Clyde
Batemans Bay is the mouth of the Clyde River on the south coast of New South Wales, a wide bay with the town on its southern shore, the long bridge across the river, islands and reefs in the bay and beaches and headlands running north to Durras and south to Broulee. The Clyde is one of the cleanest estuaries in the state, a river of oyster leases, deep holes and snags that fishes for tens of kilometres upstream, and the bay outside gives the town a snapper and kingfish fishery within sight of the pub. The whole area sits inside the Batemans Marine Park, which is the map to look at before any other.
Species by season
Bream are the Clyde’s fish, all year on the leases, the snags and the rock walls with the biggest in the cooler months; flathead lie on the sand of the lower river and the bay from spring to autumn; whiting fish the flats and the beaches in summer; and mulloway are the night fish of the bridge, the river holes and the bay. Snapper come onto the reefs and the islands in winter and spring, kingfish hold at the headlands and the islands in summer, tailor and salmon run the beaches and the rocks in the cooler months, and squid work the weed and the wharf lights.
Reading this report here
The wind row decides between the river and the bay: a southerly or a nor’-easter roughs up the bay and closes the rocks while the river stays fishable, a westerly flattens everything. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day; the tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and the Clyde runs on the tide far upstream, so use the curve for direction and the Bureau of Meteorology prediction for exact times.
Licence, access and rules
You need the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt on you, whether it is the three-day one at A$7 or the year at A$35; the New South Wales licence page lists every duration and the exemptions. The bridge, the river foreshores, the town wharves, the beaches and the headlands are public, with ramps at the marina, the river and Long Beach. The DPIRD limits and the Batemans Marine Park zoning, with sanctuary zones where fishing is not allowed, are on the pages in the sources.
Common questions
Are there no-fishing zones in Batemans Bay?
Yes. The area is inside the Batemans Marine Park, with sanctuary zones in the bay and the river; the zoning map is linked from the sources.
Do I need a fishing licence in Batemans Bay?
Yes. The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Batemans Bay 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
- Tide curve (modelled)
- Open-Meteo Marine, sea level height including tides
- 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.