Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Hastings River at Mount Seaview Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The upper Hastings at Mount Seaview inland from Wauchope: bass in a clear mountain valley river, with a Bureau gauge.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.79 m
Air / High
11 °C / 27 °C
Wind
WNW 2 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 207015, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Hastings River at Mount Seaview has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.79 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind WNW around 2 km/h, rising pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 27 °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 23 °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 Hastings River at Mount Seaview today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:35), sunset (17:49), 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 207015 (HASTINGS @ MT SEAVIE).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 207015. Latest reading 2026-09-23 22:15.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low27 °C / 11 °C
WindWNW 2 km/h, gusts 7 km/h
Pressure1029.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain14% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:35 / 17:49
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Hastings River at Mount Seaview
The best day on Hastings River at Mount Seaview this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, at 5 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: Thursday, 1 Oct — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 26 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:35 to 17:49
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 6 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Hastings River at Mount Seaview: 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 Hastings River at Mount Seaview 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 Hastings River at Mount Seaview today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
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 25 °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 13 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 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
Fishing the Hastings takes the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Hastings River at Mount Seaview is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Hastings River at Mount Seaview: the full guide
The Hastings at Mount Seaview
Mount Seaview is the remote upper valley of the Hastings River inland from Wauchope, on the Oxley Highway as it climbs toward Walcha, where the river runs clear over rock bars and through deep pools under the forested ranges. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Mount Seaview supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Port Macquarie, at the mouth, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the upper Hastings, holding in the pools and under the overhanging trees, taken on small lures and flies 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 crossings and the camping areas along the Oxley Highway and the valley roads give access to the upper Hastings, and the river is walked and waded between the pools. It is steep forest country.
Planning a visit
Mount Seaview has a resort and camping, and Wauchope is the nearest town with supplies. Bring light bass gear and wading shoes, and check the weather: the Oxley Highway climbs steep country.
The river through the year
The upper Hastings rises in the ranges below the New England escarpment, and at Mount Seaview it is a clear, fast river in a remote forested valley. Heavy rain in the ranges brings quick, strong rises, and the chart shows them. The bass move down the river in winter to spawn in the estuary near Port Macquarie, the reason for the New South Wales closure from 1 May to 31 August, and return in spring. Summer evenings in the pools are the best time here.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the upper Hastings rising after rain on the ranges; a high river is unwadeable. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is cooler here than on the coast; pressure and sky build the score at Mount Seaview.
Licence, access and rules
Fishing the Hastings takes the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page. The DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the upper Hastings?
Australian bass.
When is bass closed on the Hastings?
From 1 May to 31 August in rivers.
Do I need a licence at Mount Seaview?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Hastings River at Mount Seaview 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 207015 — HASTINGS @ MT SEAVIE
- 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.