Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Nambucca River above Bowraville Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Nambucca above Bowraville: Australian 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
0.82 m
Air / High
14 °C / 23 °C
Wind
SW 3 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 205015, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Nambucca River above Bowraville sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. The gauge reads 0.82 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind SW around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 23 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 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: 11:46 PM-1:46 AM, 11:22 AM-1:22 PM, 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. Similar 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 Nambucca River above Bowraville today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:47), sunset (19:17), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 PM; minor 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. New Moon, 0% 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 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low23 °C / 8 °C
WindSW 3 km/h, gusts 8 km/h
Pressure1019.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain16% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:47 / 19:17
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °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 Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 PM
- Minor period
- 4:50 AM-5:50 AM
- Sun
- 05:47 to 19:17
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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 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 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 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 Nambucca River above Bowraville today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 21 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
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 31 °C, wind to 13 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 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
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, station 205015, 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 winter bass closure, 1 May to 31 August, applies in the Nambucca as in other rivers, and 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. DPIRD bans nets other than landing nets above Lanes Bridge, Bowraville, from 6 pm Friday to 6 pm Sunday and on public holidays.
Planning a visit
Nambucca Heads is a short drive east. Bring light bass gear, and fish summer evenings with a small popper or a walk-the-dog lure along the shade lines.
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 them in rivers over the winter months. 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 weekend net ban and the bass closure are in the DPIRD guide in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch above Bowraville?
Australian bass, along the snags and shaded banks.
When is bass closed on the Nambucca?
On the Nambucca, from 1 May to 31 August.
Do I need a licence above Bowraville?
Yes: the upper Nambucca needs 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
- 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.