Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Nepean River at Penrith Fishing Report
Updated Tue, 10 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Nepean at Penrith: Australian bass in the weir pool and the gorge above, a closed zone at Penrith Weir and the Bureau’s gauge at the town.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
1.01 m
Air / High
11 °C / 28 °C
Wind
WSW 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 212201, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Nepean River at Penrith has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. The gauge reads 1.01 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 28 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:52 PM-1:52 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 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: 11:52 PM-1:52 AM, 12:19 PM-2:19 PM, 5:27 AM-6:27 AM. Similar at 28 °C with a rain chance. 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 Nepean River at Penrith today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:49), sunset (19:33), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:52 PM-1:52 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM; minor 5:27 AM-6:27 AM. New Moon, 1% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 212201 (NEPEAN R @ PENRITH).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 212201. Latest reading 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low28 °C / 8 °C
WindWSW 6 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1019.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain19% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:49 / 19:33
MoonNew Moon, 1%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Nepean River at Penrith
The best day on Nepean River at Penrith 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, 10 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:52 PM-1:52 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM
- Minor period
- 5:27 AM-6:27 AM
- Sun
- 05:49 to 19:33
- Moon
- New Moon, 1% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Nepean River at Penrith: 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 Nepean River at Penrith 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 Nepean River at Penrith today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataMon, Nov 9
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 22 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Sun, Nov 8
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 18 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at excellent. High of 29 °C, wind to 26 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
A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is needed, starting at A$7 for three days, with longer periods on our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Nepean River at Penrith is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Nepean River at Penrith: the full guide
The reach
The Nepean at Penrith leaves the Blue Mountains gorge and runs past the town, held by Penrith Weir into a long pool. It is upstream of the Hawkesbury’s tidal limit at Yarramundi, so this is fresh water. DPIRD prohibits all fishing within 115 metres upstream and 26 metres downstream of the Penrith Weir face. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Penrith supplies the river level and the 30-day chart.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish, in the gorge pools, rock walls and snags of the weir pool from spring to autumn, taken on surface lures at dusk and plastics by day; estuary perch also live in the river. Both are closed in rivers from 1 May to 31 August under the NSW rule computed on the species card. DPIRD closes silver perch in every river and Macquarie perch in all waters.
Where to fish it
The weir pool is long, calm water that suits a kayak, and the gorge upstream holds deeper, rockier pools. Fish tight to rock walls and fallen timber and use the last hour of light in summer. Keep well clear of the closed water around the weir, which is not a fishing spot. Nets other than landing nets are banned in the non-tidal Nepean upstream of the Yarramundi Bridge.
Reading the report
The chart shows the weir pool’s steady level and the freshes that come down after rain in the mountains, colouring the river and moving the bass. 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. Rain in the mountains can raise the river quickly, so anyone paddling the gorge should watch the rain row and get off the water if the level starts to climb.
Licence, access and rules
A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is needed, starting at A$7 for three days, with longer periods on our New South Wales licence page. DPIRD’s species closures and its general closures page, with the Penrith Weir zone and the Nepean net rule, are in the sources.
Common questions
Where can’t I fish at Penrith?
Within 115 metres upstream and 26 metres downstream of the Penrith Weir face, where DPIRD prohibits all fishing.
Do I need a licence at Penrith?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Nepean River at Penrith 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 212201 — NEPEAN R @ PENRITH
- 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.