Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Nambucca River above Bowraville Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Nambucca above Bowraville: bass in the fresh upper river of the Nambucca valley, with a Bureau gauge above the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.75 m
Air / High
14 °C / 25 °C
Wind
NNE 5 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 205015, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Nambucca River above Bowraville has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.75 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1030 hPa and a high of 25 °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.
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. Similar at 26 °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 Nambucca River above Bowraville today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:34), sunset (17:46), 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 205015 (NAMBUCCA U/S BOWRAVI).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 205015. Latest reading 2026-09-23 22:15.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low25 °C / 13 °C
WindNNE 5 km/h, gusts 14 km/h
Pressure1030.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:34 / 17:46
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Nambucca River above Bowraville
The best day on Nambucca River above Bowraville this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 3 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: Saturday, 26 Sept — fair at 3/5, 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
- 05:34 to 17:46
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 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 Nambucca River above Bowraville: 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 Nambucca River above Bowraville 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 Nambucca River above Bowraville 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 22 °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 23 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at fair. 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 Nambucca, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Nambucca River above Bowraville is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Nambucca River above Bowraville: the full guide
The Nambucca above Bowraville
Bowraville is the valley town on the Nambucca River inland from Nambucca Heads, and above it the river runs fresh through dairy flats and forest under the ranges. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge upstream of Bowraville supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Nambucca Heads, at the mouth, has its own page.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the fresh Nambucca, taken on surface lures and small hardbodies along the snags and the shaded banks 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 reserves around Bowraville and the valley roads upstream give access to the river, and a kayak covers the longer pools. Much of the frontage is farmland.
Planning a visit
Bowraville has a store, a pub and a heritage main street, and Nambucca Heads is a short drive. Bring light bass gear, and fish summer evenings.
The river through the year
Bass in the Nambucca follow the life cycle of their kind: they live in the fresh river above Bowraville for most of the year and move down to the brackish water of the estuary in winter to spawn, which is why New South Wales closes bass in rivers and estuaries from 1 May to 31 August. In spring they move back up, and from late spring to autumn they feed along the snags and the shaded banks, most of all on the surface at dusk. Summer storms and the occasional east coast low bring floods that colour the river for days; the chart shows them. Above the town the river is small and clear, and a light rod and a stealthy approach catch more than distance casting.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Nambucca rising after coastal rain; a clearing river after a fresh is the bass window. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm through the bass months; pressure and sky build the score above Bowraville.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Nambucca, 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 above Bowraville?
Australian bass.
When is bass closed on the Nambucca?
From 1 May to 31 August.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Nambucca River above Bowraville 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 205015 — NAMBUCCA U/S BOWRAVI
- 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.