Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Orara River at Glenreagh Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Orara at Glenreagh between Coffs Harbour and Grafton: bass in a quiet valley river, with a Bureau gauge at the village.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.25 m
Air / High
14 °C / 23 °C
Wind
WNW 7 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 204906, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Orara River at Glenreagh has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.25 m, holding steady. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WNW around 8 km/h, steady pressure near 1032 hPa and a high of 23 °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 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 Orara River at Glenreagh today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:34), sunset (17:45), 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 204906 (ORARA R @ GLENREAGH).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 204906. Latest reading 2026-09-23 22:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low23 °C / 14 °C
WindWNW 7 km/h, gusts 14 km/h
Pressure1031.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain31% cloud, 82%
Sunrise / Sunset05:34 / 17:45
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Orara River at Glenreagh
The best day on Orara River at Glenreagh this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 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: Sunday, 27 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 25 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- 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 17:45
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 82%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Orara River at Glenreagh: 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 Orara River at Glenreagh 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 Orara River at Glenreagh 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 13 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 21 °C, wind to 11 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 20 °C, wind to 23 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 Orara, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees.
About this water
Orara River at Glenreagh is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Orara River at Glenreagh: the full guide
The Orara at Glenreagh
Glenreagh is the village in the Orara valley between Coffs Harbour and Grafton, where the Orara River runs north through farmland and forest toward the Clarence, a small, clear river of pools and gravel runs under casuarinas. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Glenreagh supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Coffs Harbour and the Clarence River have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the Orara, taken on small surface lures and spinners under the casuarinas and along the snags from spring to autumn; eastern freshwater cod, which occur in the Clarence system, are protected and must be released. The New South Wales river closure for bass, 1 May to 31 August, applies; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The road crossings and the reserves around Glenreagh give access to the Orara’s pools, and a kayak covers the longer reaches. Much of the valley is private farmland.
Planning a visit
Glenreagh is on the Orara Way, with a pub and the heritage railway, and Coffs Harbour and Grafton have supplies. Bring light bass gear, and fish the summer evenings.
The river through the year
The Orara is a small, clear river draining the coastal ranges behind Coffs Harbour, and it rises quickly after heavy rain on the escarpment and falls back within days. Its bass move downstream in winter to the Clarence estuary to spawn, which is why New South Wales closes them in rivers and estuaries from 1 May to 31 August, and they come back up in spring. From late spring to autumn they feed under the casuarinas and along the snags, most readily at dusk with a small surface lure. A kayak or a walk along the gravel runs covers the pools near the village.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Orara rising after coastal rain and dropping back quickly; a clear, falling river is the bass window. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm through the bass months; pressure and sky build the score at Glenreagh.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies on the Orara, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales page has the fees. The DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Orara River?
Australian bass; eastern freshwater cod are protected.
When is bass closed on the Orara?
From 1 May to 31 August.
Do I need a licence at Glenreagh?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Orara River at Glenreagh right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Storage and river readings
- Bureau of Meteorology, Water Data Online, station 204906 — ORARA R @ GLENREAGH
- 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.