Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Clarence River at Tabulam Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The upper Clarence at Tabulam: Australian bass in the clear river of the Northern Rivers, in the catchment of the protected eastern freshwater cod, with a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.57 m
Air / High
15 °C / 25 °C
Wind
SSW 7 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 204002, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Clarence River at Tabulam has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 0.57 m, easing 0.29 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 25 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:47 PM-1:47 AM and 11:23 AM-1:23 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: 11:47 PM-1:47 AM, 11:23 AM-1:23 PM, 4:54 AM-5:54 AM. Warmer at 31 °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 Clarence River at Tabulam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:51), sunset (19:16), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:47 PM-1:47 AM and 11:23 AM-1:23 PM; minor 4:54 AM-5:54 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 204002 (CLARENCE @ TABULAM).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 204002. Latest reading 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low25 °C / 8 °C
WindSSW 7 km/h, gusts 15 km/h
Pressure1019.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:51 / 19:16
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Clarence River at Tabulam
The best day on Clarence River at Tabulam this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:47 PM-1:47 AM and 11:23 AM-1:23 PM
- Minor period
- 4:54 AM-5:54 AM
- Sun
- 05:51 to 19:16
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Clarence River at Tabulam: 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 Clarence River at Tabulam 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 Clarence River at Tabulam 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. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 27 °C, wind to 27 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 32 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
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 28 °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 at Tabulam, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees.
About this water
Clarence River at Tabulam is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Clarence River at Tabulam: the full guide
The Clarence at Tabulam
Tabulam is the small village where the road from Casino to Tenterfield crosses the upper Clarence River, a clear river of rock bars, casuarina banks and deep pools in the hills of the Northern Rivers. The Clarence system is the home of the eastern freshwater cod, which DPIRD closes to take in all waters all year. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Tabulam, station 204002, supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Clarence River has its own page.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the sport fish of the upper Clarence, taken on surface lures, spinnerbaits and small hardbodies along the casuarinas and the rock bars from spring to autumn. Any eastern freshwater cod hooked must be released straight away, and DPIRD shuts the Mann River and most of its tributaries, a big arm of this system, to all fishing from August to October to protect them. Bass and estuary perch in rivers are closed from 1 May to 31 August, and the species card computes that.
Where to fish it
The reserve by the Tabulam bridge gives access to the river, and paddling the pools and rock bars upstream and down is how the upper Clarence is fished. The river is popular with canoeists in summer.
Planning a visit
Casino is the nearest larger town. Bring a canoe or kayak, light bass gear and a plan to release any cod quickly: wet hands, no weighing, back in the water within seconds.
The river through the year
The upper Clarence rises quickly after heavy rain on the ranges and clears within days of a fresh; the clearing water is the time to fish for bass, and summer evenings are the best of it. In the upper river, above the power line about 5 km upstream of Copmanhurst, DPIRD bans all nets other than landing nets.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Clarence rising after rain in the ranges; a high, brown river is not safe to paddle, and a clearing river brings the bass on. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm through the bass season; pressure and sky build the score at Tabulam.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies at Tabulam, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees. The bass closure, the net ban and the eastern cod protection are in the DPIRD guide in the sources.
Common questions
Can I keep an eastern freshwater cod caught at Tabulam?
No. Eastern freshwater cod are closed to take in all New South Wales waters, all year.
When is bass closed on the Clarence?
From 1 May to 31 August in rivers such as the upper Clarence.
Do I need a licence at Tabulam?
Yes: at Tabulam the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Clarence River at Tabulam right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 204002 — CLARENCE @ TABULAM
- 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.