Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge in Kangaroo Valley: bass above Tallowa Dam, outside the river closure, with no current Bureau level series.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~21 °C est.
Air / High
12 °C / 19 °C
Wind
WSW 3 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 19 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:56 PM-1:56 AM and 11:32 AM-1:32 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Bream
Good
Prime bream weather. Cast small vibes, crankbaits and 2 to 3 inch plastics at every piece of structure on the rising tide.
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: 11:56 PM-1:56 AM, 11:32 AM-1:32 PM, 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. Warmer at 24 °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 Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:49), sunset (19:34), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:56 PM-1:56 AM and 11:32 AM-1:32 PM; minor 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Conditions here are modelled from weather, season and the nearest stations.
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Bureau of Meteorology station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low19 °C / 8 °C
WindWSW 3 km/h, gusts 13 km/h
Pressure1020.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain22% cloud, 19%
Sunrise / Sunset05:49 / 19:34
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge
The best day on Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge 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
- 11:56 PM-1:56 AM and 11:32 AM-1:32 PM
- Minor period
- 4:50 AM-5:50 AM
- Sun
- 05:49 to 19:34
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 19%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge: 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 all year The Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge is above Tallowa Dam, and the closure does not apply in rivers above impoundments 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.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Prime bream weather. Cast small vibes, crankbaits and 2 to 3 inch plastics at every piece of structure on the rising tide.
When to come: the Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge 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
Bream
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 Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge 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 16 °C, wind to 23 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 27 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
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 27 °C, wind to 11 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 Kangaroo River takes the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees.
About this water
Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge: the full guide
The Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge
Hampden Bridge is the historic sandstone suspension bridge over the Kangaroo River at Kangaroo Valley in the Southern Highlands escarpment country, where the river runs between farmland and forest before it backs up into the Kangaroo arm of Lake Yarrunga behind Tallowa Dam. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Hampden Bridge has not reported recent readings to Water Data Online, so this page carries no level chart. Tallowa Dam has its own page.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the Kangaroo River, in the pools, under the casuarinas and around the rock bars, taken on surface lures, spinnerbaits and small plastics, with the river paddled by canoe and kayak. New South Wales closes bass and estuary perch in rivers from 1 May to 31 August, but not in rivers above impoundments, and the Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge is above Tallowa Dam; the species card shows the exemption with the rule linked.
Where to fish it
The reserve at Hampden Bridge and the canoe launches along the valley give access to the river, and paddling downstream toward the lake is how the Kangaroo is usually fished. WaterNSW’s Bendeela Recreation Area, on the upper reaches of Lake Yarrunga, has canoe launching points and allows fishing and canoeing; all campers there need a booking. The river is popular with paddlers in summer, and early mornings are quieter.
Planning a visit
Kangaroo Valley village sits beside Hampden Bridge, with a pub, cafes and canoe hire, and WaterNSW runs the camping ground at Bendeela downstream. A canoe or a kayak with a light bass rod is the way to fish the river down toward the lake; start early in summer, when the river is busy with paddlers, and check WaterNSW’s algae alerts for the lake.
Reading this report here
Without a current level series, the weather rows carry the page: heavy rain on the escarpment raises the river fast, and a flooded Kangaroo is dangerous to paddle. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm through the bass months; pressure and sky build the score at Hampden Bridge.
Licence, access and rules
Fishing the Kangaroo River takes the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees. The reserves and canoe launches are public, and the DPIRD closure summary, with its above-impoundment exemption, is in the sources.
Common questions
Is bass fishing closed in winter on the Kangaroo River?
Not at Hampden Bridge: the New South Wales river closure does not apply in rivers above impoundments, and this reach is above Tallowa Dam.
How is the Kangaroo River usually fished?
By canoe or kayak, paddling downstream from the valley toward Lake Yarrunga.
Do I need a licence on the Kangaroo River?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days, covers the Kangaroo River.
Is fishing good at Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge 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
- 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.