Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Gloucester River at Gloucester Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Gloucester River at Gloucester under the Bucketts: bass in a clear valley river, with a Bureau gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.86 m
Air / High
21 °C / 29 °C
Wind
E 1 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 208020, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Gloucester River at Gloucester rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 0.86 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 2 km/h, steady pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 29 °C. Water sits around 16 °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.
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 19 °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 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 Gloucester River at Gloucester today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:36), sunset (17:50), the moon and today's score. 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
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 208020 (GLOUCESTER GLOUCESTR).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 208020. Latest reading 2026-09-24 22:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp21 °C
High / Low29 °C / 10 °C
WindE 1 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure1023.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:36 / 17:50
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Gloucester River at Gloucester
The best day on Gloucester River at Gloucester this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, at 4 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 — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
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
- 05:36 to 17:50
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 10 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Gloucester River at Gloucester: 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 Gloucester River at Gloucester 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 Gloucester River at Gloucester 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. Australian bass led the card at fair. High of 26 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at fair. High of 24 °C, wind to 10 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 26 °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 is required on the Gloucester River, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees.
About this water
Gloucester River at Gloucester is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Gloucester River at Gloucester: the full guide
The Gloucester at Gloucester
Gloucester is the valley town under the Bucketts, the rocky peaks at the gateway to the Barrington Tops, where the Gloucester River runs clear through dairy country toward the Manning. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Gloucester supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Barrington River and the Manning at Wingham have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the Gloucester River, in the pools and runs on surface lures, spinnerbaits and small hardbodies from spring to autumn. The New South Wales river closure for bass, 1 May to 31 August, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The reserves and crossings around Gloucester give access to the river, and the valley roads reach the reaches downstream. A kayak covers the pools between the gravel runs.
Planning a visit
Gloucester has supplies, accommodation and cafes, and the Barrington Tops are close for a longer trip. Bring light bass gear and wading shoes.
The river through the year
The Gloucester River comes off the ranges around the Barrington Tops and runs clear through the valley, a river of gravel runs, pools and casuarinas, and it rises and colours quickly after heavy rain on the ranges. Bass live in the fresh river through the warm months and travel down the Manning to the brackish water to spawn in winter, the reason for the New South Wales closure from 1 May to 31 August; they return in spring. From late spring to autumn, the evenings are the time for surface lures along the shaded banks. The Bucketts above the town catch the storms, and the chart shows how fast the river can rise after them.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Gloucester rising after rain on the Barringtons; a clear, dropping river fishes best. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at Gloucester.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required on the Gloucester River, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees. The DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Gloucester River?
Australian bass.
When is bass closed here?
From 1 May to 31 August.
Do I need a licence at Gloucester?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Gloucester River at Gloucester 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 208020 — GLOUCESTER GLOUCESTR
- 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.