Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Colo River at Upper Colo Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Colo at Upper Colo, where the Wollemi gorge opens: bass in a wild sandstone river, with a Bureau gauge at the bridge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.80 m
Air / High
18 °C / 31 °C
Wind
NW 10 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 212290, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Colo River at Upper Colo has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.80 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 31 °C. Water sits around 16 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Warmer at 33 °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 Colo River at Upper Colo today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:43), sunset (17:55), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 212290 (COLO R @ UPPER COLO).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 212290. Latest reading 2026-09-23 21:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low31 °C / 12 °C
WindNW 10 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1026.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 43%
Sunrise / Sunset05:43 / 17:55
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Colo River at Upper Colo
The best day on Colo River at Upper Colo this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 2 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: Saturday, 26 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 25 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:43 to 17:55
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 43%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Colo River at Upper Colo: 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 June to August in NSW rivers
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. Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
When to come: the Colo River at Upper Colo 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 16 °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 Colo River at Upper Colo today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Australian bass led the card at good. High of 27 °C, wind to 8 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at fair. High of 22 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at fair. High of 17 °C, wind to 14 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 Colo, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees.
About this water
Colo River at Upper Colo is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Colo River at Upper Colo: the full guide
The Colo at Upper Colo
Upper Colo is the small settlement where the Colo River comes out of its long sandstone gorge through Wollemi National Park, north-west of Sydney, and runs between sandy beaches and casuarinas toward the Hawkesbury. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Upper Colo supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Hawkesbury has its own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the Colo, holding in the deep sandstone pools and along the casuarina banks, taken on surface lures and small hardbodies from spring to autumn; bass fishing on the Colo is often combined with multi-day walks or paddles into the gorge. The New South Wales river closure for bass, 1 May to 31 August, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The bridge at Upper Colo and the reserves along the lower river give access, and the gorge upstream is reached on foot or by canoe inside Wollemi National Park, which has its own rules.
Planning a visit
Upper Colo is on the Putty Road country north-west of Windsor, which has supplies. For the gorge, plan properly: it is remote wilderness with no easy exits.
The river through the year
The Colo drains the sandstone wilderness of Wollemi, and after heavy rain it rises quickly and runs brown through its gorge before falling back slowly over days. Its bass move down to the Hawkesbury estuary to spawn in winter, which is why New South Wales closes them in rivers and estuaries from 1 May to 31 August, and they come back upstream in spring. Through summer and autumn they feed in the deep pools and along the casuarinas, most of all on warm evenings. The sandy beaches at Upper Colo are popular on summer weekends.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Colo rising after rain in the Wollemi; the gorge floods fast and a high river is dangerous. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm through the bass season; pressure and sky build the score at Upper Colo.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Colo, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees. Wollemi National Park’s rules and the DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Colo River?
Australian bass.
Can I fish inside Wollemi National Park?
The Colo gorge is inside the park; follow the park’s rules for access and camping, linked in the sources.
Do I need a licence on the Colo?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Colo River at Upper Colo 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 212290 — COLO R @ UPPER COLO
- 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.