Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Hunter River at Singleton Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Hunter at Singleton: Australian bass and estuary perch under the winter river closure, fed by Glenbawn’s releases, with the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.44 m
Air / High
15 °C / 24 °C
Wind
ESE 7 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 210001, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Hunter River at Singleton has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 0.44 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 24 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:53 PM-1:53 AM and 11:29 AM-1:29 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: 11:53 PM-1:53 AM, 11:29 AM-1:29 PM, 4:52 AM-5:52 AM. Warmer at 30 °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 Hunter River at Singleton today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:50), sunset (19:28), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:53 PM-1:53 AM and 11:29 AM-1:29 PM; minor 4:52 AM-5:52 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 210001 (HUNTER @ SINGLETON).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 210001. Latest reading 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low24 °C / 9 °C
WindESE 7 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1019.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:50 / 19:28
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Hunter River at Singleton
The best day on Hunter River at Singleton this week looks like Friday 13 Nov, at 5 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Friday, 13 Nov — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:53 PM-1:53 AM and 11:29 AM-1:29 PM
- Minor period
- 4:52 AM-5:52 AM
- Sun
- 05:50 to 19:28
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Hunter River at Singleton: 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 Hunter River at Singleton 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 Hunter River at Singleton today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
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 21 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
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 32 °C, wind to 24 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 Hunter is covered by the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the price list.
About this water
Hunter River at Singleton is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Hunter River at Singleton: the full guide
The reach
The Hunter at Singleton runs out of the upper valley below Glenbawn Dam, whose releases and valley rain set its level. It is non-tidal river here, upstream of the railway bridge at Oakhampton, above which DPIRD bans nets and traps other than landing nets and shrimp traps in the Hunter and its tributaries. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Singleton supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the river’s native sportfish, in the snags and deep bends from spring to autumn, taken on surface lures at dusk and on plastics by day. Bass and estuary perch are closed in rivers from 1 May to 31 August under the NSW rule computed on the species card; dams are not closed. Silver perch are closed to take in rivers east of the Divide as well as west, and Macquarie perch in all waters. Glenbawn has its own page.
Where to fish it
Deep outside bends with fallen timber are the bass water, and the sand bars fish at dusk when the river is low. A kayak covers the bends upstream and downstream of town; cast tight to cover, because bass rarely stray far from it. They feed hardest on warm evenings, so plan around the last hour of light. In a dry spell the deeper pools below riffles hold the most fish, and a quiet approach along the bank counts for more than casting distance.
Reading the report
The chart follows Glenbawn releases and valley rain; a fresh after rain colours the river and moves the bass, while a low, clear summer river fishes best at dusk and after dark. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, gives the bass band from about October to April. Pressure counts on summer evenings, and the planner picks the night.
Licence, access and rules
The Hunter is covered by the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the price list. DPIRD’s species closures, including the bass and estuary perch river closure, and its general closures page with the Hunter net and trap rule are in the sources.
Common questions
Is bass closed in the Hunter River?
Yes, from 1 May to 31 August in the river under the New South Wales rule, which also covers estuary perch; the dams are not closed.
Do I need a licence at Singleton?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Hunter River at Singleton 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 210001 — HUNTER @ SINGLETON
- 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.