Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Orara River at Glenreagh Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Orara at Glenreagh between Coffs Harbour and Grafton: Australian bass in a quiet valley river, with a Bureau gauge at the village.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.53 m
Air / High
14 °C / 23 °C
Wind
S 8 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 204906, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Orara River at Glenreagh sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. The gauge reads 0.53 m, easing 0.16 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 8 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. Warmer at 26 °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 Orara River at Glenreagh today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:47), sunset (19:16), 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 204906 (ORARA R @ GLENREAGH).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 204906. Latest reading 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low23 °C / 8 °C
WindS 8 km/h, gusts 18 km/h
Pressure1019.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:47 / 19:16
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °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 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, 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 19:16
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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 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 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 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 Orara River at Glenreagh 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 22 °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 14 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 25 °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 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, station 204906, 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 belong to the Clarence system and are closed to take in every New South Wales water, so release any you hook at once. Bass may not be kept in rivers from 1 May to 31 August; the species card computes that closure.
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, so ask before crossing it. DPIRD bans nets other than landing nets in the non-tidal Orara above Bawden Bridge.
Planning a visit
Coffs Harbour and Grafton have supplies and tackle. Bring light bass gear, and fish the summer evenings, when the surface bite starts as the light goes.
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 brackish water to spawn, which is why New South Wales closes them in rivers over those months, 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 bass closure and the Orara net ban are in the DPIRD guide in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Orara River?
Australian bass; eastern freshwater cod must be released.
When is bass closed on the Orara?
Bass in the Orara are closed from 1 May to 31 August.
Do I need a licence at Glenreagh?
Yes, anglers at Glenreagh need 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: 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 204906 — ORARA R @ GLENREAGH
- 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.