Rainbow trout
Excellent
Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Bombala River at Bombala Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Bombala River at Bombala on the southern Monaro: trout and platypus in the town’s river, with a Bureau gauge at Bombala.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.49 m
Air / High
6 °C / 14 °C
Wind
E 8 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 222019, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Bombala River at Bombala rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 0.49 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind E around 8 km/h, steady pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 14 °C. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:10 PM-1:10 AM and 11:38 AM-1:38 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Excellent
Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:10 PM-1:10 AM, 11:38 AM-1:38 PM, 4:51 AM-5:51 AM. Warmer at 21 °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 rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD NSW before you keep anything; the Rainbow trout page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Bombala River at Bombala today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:50), sunset (19:44), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:10 PM-1:10 AM and 11:38 AM-1:38 PM; minor 4:51 AM-5:51 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 222019 (BOMBALA @ BOMBALA).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 222019. Latest reading 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp6 °C
High / Low14 °C / 4 °C
WindE 8 km/h, gusts 17 km/h
Pressure1020.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain65% cloud, 57%
Sunrise / Sunset05:50 / 19:44
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Bombala River at Bombala
The best day on Bombala River at Bombala this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:10 PM-1:10 AM and 11:38 AM-1:38 PM
- Minor period
- 4:51 AM-5:51 AM
- Sun
- 05:50 to 19:44
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 57%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Bombala River at Bombala: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open now Closes 15 June 2027. General trout streams close from the Tuesday after the June long weekend to the last Friday before the October long weekend. Lakes and dams have no closed season. Rule as read from DPIRD NSW on 2026-09-23.
The stocked lakes of the Snowy Mountains, the Victorian highlands and the Tasmanian central plateau. Closed seasons apply on the rivers: check the state rules. Prime. Shore fishing along the edges with bait, spinners and flies, and the rivers if the season is open.
Brown trout
Streams from October to June in NSW and from September to June in Victoria; lakes open all year; Tasmania from the first Saturday of August
Open now Closes 15 June 2027. General trout streams close from the Tuesday after the June long weekend to the last Friday before the October long weekend. Lakes and dams have no closed season. Rule as read from DPIRD NSW on 2026-09-23.
The wild trout of the highland rivers and Tasmania's lakes. Spawns in autumn, hence the closed rivers through winter in NSW and Victoria. Prime. Nymphs and streamers on the rivers, and the lake edges on the overcast days.
When to come: the Bombala River at Bombala 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
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 13 °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 Bombala River at Bombala today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 11 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 12 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 21 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 Bombala River, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees.
About this water
Bombala River at Bombala is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Bombala River at Bombala: the full guide
The Bombala at Bombala
Bombala is the southern Monaro town on the Bombala River, near the Victorian border between Cooma and the far south coast, where the river winds through open grazing country and past the town’s platypus reserve. The Bombala River is in the Snowy catchment and is named in DPIRD’s description of the Snowy River endangered ecological community. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Bombala supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Snowy River at Dalgety has its own page.
Species and seasons
Brown and rainbow trout are the fish of the Bombala River, in the runs and the pools, taken on the fly, lures and bait. DPIRD’s southern trout guide makes the Snowy and all its creeks and tributaries above the Victorian border general trout waters, so the Bombala closes to all fishing from the Tuesday after the June long weekend to the last Friday before the October long weekend, as the species card computes, and allows five trout a day from 25 cm in the season. Native fish are protected under the endangered ecological community listing.
Where to fish it
The town reserve and the platypus reserve at Bombala give access to the river, and the reaches out of town are reached from the road crossings. It is a small river fished with light gear, and the platypus in the town pools are a reason to fish quietly. The pools in and below the town and the runs out along the valley are the trout water, fished with small nymphs, dry flies and light spinners in spring and autumn.
Planning a visit
Bombala is on the Monaro Highway south of Cooma, a small town with a pub, a caravan park and the platypus reserve by the river. Bring light trout gear, warm clothing for the southern Monaro and patience at the platypus pools, which are best at dawn and dusk.
Reading this report here
The southern Monaro is cold, and the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cold for much of the year; the chart shows the river rising after rain and falling through summer, when a small stream like this can run low. Pressure and sky build the score at Bombala.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Bombala River, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees. The town reserves are public, and the trout stream rules are in the sources.
Common questions
When can I fish the Bombala River for trout?
The river is closed from the Tuesday after the June long weekend to the last Friday before the October long weekend; fish it outside those dates.
What can I catch in the Bombala River?
Brown and rainbow trout.
Do I need a licence at Bombala?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days, covers the Bombala River.
Is fishing good at Bombala River at Bombala 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 222019 — BOMBALA @ BOMBALA
- 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.