Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Manning River at Wingham Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Manning at Wingham, near the tidal limit: bass in the fresh water and bream below, with a Bureau gauge at the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.61 m
Air / High
15 °C / 26 °C
Wind
ENE 2 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 208400, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Manning River at Wingham rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 0.61 m, up 0.25 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 2 km/h, rising pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 26 °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.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
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 29 °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 Manning River at Wingham today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:36), sunset (17:48), 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 208400 (MANNING @ WINGHAM).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 208400. Latest reading 2026-09-23 22:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low26 °C / 14 °C
WindENE 2 km/h, gusts 5 km/h
Pressure1028.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:36 / 17:48
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Manning River at Wingham
The best day on Manning River at Wingham this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, 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: Thursday, 1 Oct — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
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
- 05:36 to 17:48
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Manning River at Wingham: 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.
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. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
When to come: the Manning River at Wingham 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 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 Manning River at Wingham today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, 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 25 °C, wind to 16 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 21 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
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 21 °C, wind to 13 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 Manning at Wingham, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees.
About this water
Manning River at Wingham is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Manning River at Wingham: the full guide
The Manning at Wingham
Wingham is the Manning Valley town on the Manning River upstream of Taree, near the head of the tide, where the river passes Wingham Brush, the remnant rainforest reserve beside the town. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Wingham supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Manning River and Harrington at the mouth have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the Manning in the fresh water around and above Wingham, under the trees and the snags on surface lures and spinnerbaits from spring to autumn; the tidal water around the town and down toward Taree holds bream, flathead and estuary perch. The New South Wales closure for bass and estuary perch in rivers, 1 May to 31 August, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The Wingham Brush reserve, the riverside park and the boat ramp give access to the Manning at Wingham, and a kayak covers the reaches upstream where the bass hold. The tide reaches close to the town, so a trip can mix fresh and tidal water. The snags upstream of the town hold the bass on summer evenings.
Planning a visit
Wingham is a short drive west of Taree off the Pacific Highway, with supplies, a caravan park and the Wingham Brush reserve beside the river. Bring bass lures for the fresh water upstream and bream gear for the tidal reaches; the Manning Valley’s rivers flood after heavy rain.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Manning rising after rain in the ranges; a flood makes the river unfishable and a clearing river brings the bass on. The tidal effect near Wingham is small, and the planner’s modelled tide, where shown, is labelled as a model. Pressure and sky build the score at Wingham.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Manning at Wingham, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees. The reserve, the park and the ramp are public, and the DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Wingham?
Australian bass in the fresh water, and bream, flathead and estuary perch in the tidal reaches.
When is bass closed on the Manning?
From 1 May to 31 August in rivers.
Do I need a licence at Wingham?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Manning River at Wingham 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 208400 — MANNING @ WINGHAM
- 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.