Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Bellinger River at Thora Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Bellinger at Thora under the Dorrigo escarpment: Australian bass in clear pools, the winter river closure and a critically endangered turtle, with the Bureau’s gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.50 m
Air / High
15 °C / 24 °C
Wind
ENE 2 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 205002, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Bellinger River at Thora is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. The gauge reads 1.50 m, easing 0.07 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ENE around 2 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 24 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 11:46 PM-1:46 AM, 11:22 AM-1:22 PM, 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. Similar at 25 °C. 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 australian bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD NSW before you keep anything; the Australian bass page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Bellinger River at Thora today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:47), sunset (19:17), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 PM; minor 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 205002 (BELLINGER @ THORA).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 205002. Latest reading 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low24 °C / 10 °C
WindENE 2 km/h, gusts 5 km/h
Pressure1019.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain34% cloud, 16%
Sunrise / Sunset05:47 / 19:17
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Bellinger River at Thora
The best day on Bellinger River at Thora this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 PM
- Minor period
- 4:50 AM-5:50 AM
- Sun
- 05:47 to 19:17
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 16%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Bellinger River at Thora: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Australian bass
September to April in the rivers; closed 1 May to 31 August in NSW rivers, and dams stay open
Open now Closes 1 May 2027. Closed 1 May to 31 August in all rivers except rivers above impoundments; dams are not closed. Rule as read from DPIRD NSW on 2026-09-23.
The native sportfish of the east-coast rivers and the stocked dams. Surface lures in summer, deep in winter, and a river closed season for spawning. Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
When to come: the Bellinger River at Thora 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
Australian bass
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 21 °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 Bellinger River at Thora today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 21 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 31 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 24 °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
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Bellinger, from A$7 for three days, with other periods on our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Bellinger River at Thora is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Bellinger River at Thora: the full guide
The reach
The Bellinger at Thora is the river above Bellingen at the foot of the Dorrigo escarpment, clear and quick over gravel and rock between long pools. It is also the only home of the Bellinger River snapping turtle, found in a 60-kilometre stretch of the river and listed as critically endangered after a virus killed an estimated 90 percent of the population in six weeks in early 2015, NSW Environment and Heritage records. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Thora supplies the river level and the 30-day chart.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish, in pools, snags and rock walls from spring to autumn, on surface lures at dusk and small hardbodies and plastics by day. Bass and estuary perch are closed in rivers from 1 May to 31 August under the NSW rule computed on the species card. Bream belong to the tidal river downstream rather than the fresh water at Thora, so the card leaves them out.
Where to fish it
Bass in a clear mountain river are wary, so approach pools from downstream, keep low and cast to the heads of pools and the shade of overhanging banks. A canoe or kayak can run the reach downstream between pools when the water is up; in low flow, walking the gravel bars reaches water a boat cannot. Dusk is the bass hour.
Reading the report
The chart shows a coastal mountain river that rises fast after rain on the escarpment and falls back within a day or two; a fresh colours the water and moves the bass, and a clear, low river makes them cautious. On the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, the bass band is about October to April, and pressure counts most on summer evenings.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Bellinger, from A$7 for three days, with other periods on our New South Wales licence page. The Saving our Species program asks people to report sick or dead turtles to the Environment Hotline on 131 555 and to log sightings, and much of the turtle’s river runs past private land, so use public access. DPIRD’s closures and the turtle program’s page are in the sources.
Common questions
When can I fish for bass on the Bellinger?
From 1 September to 30 April; bass and estuary perch are closed in NSW rivers from 1 May to 31 August, and the species card computes the dates.
Do I need a licence at Thora?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Bellinger River at Thora 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 205002 — BELLINGER @ THORA
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- 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.