Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Williams River at Glen Martin Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Williams River near Clarence Town in the lower Hunter: Australian bass below Chichester Dam, with a Bureau gauge at Glen Martin.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.62 m
Air / High
18 °C / 29 °C
Wind
NNE 14 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 210010, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Williams River at Glen Martin has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.62 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 14 km/h, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 29 °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.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
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 31 °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 Williams River at Glen Martin today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:38), sunset (17:50), 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 210010 (WILLIAMS RV@GLEN MAR).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 210010. Latest reading 2026-09-23 22:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low29 °C / 14 °C
WindNNE 14 km/h, gusts 29 km/h
Pressure1027.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:38 / 17:50
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Williams River at Glen Martin
The best day on Williams River at Glen Martin this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, at 4 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: Thursday, 1 Oct — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
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
- 05:38 to 17:50
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Williams River at Glen Martin: 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.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
When to come: the Williams River at Glen Martin 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
Bream
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 Williams River at Glen Martin 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 26 °C, wind to 14 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 26 °C, wind to 18 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 19 °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
On the Williams the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Williams River at Glen Martin is a river in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Williams River at Glen Martin: the full guide
The Williams at Glen Martin
Glen Martin is the gauging point on the Williams River near Clarence Town in the lower Hunter, where the river runs between cattle flats and casuarina banks from the Barrington foothills and Chichester Dam toward the Hunter at Raymond Terrace. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Glen Martin supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Hunter at Greta and Port Stephens have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the Williams, holding under the casuarinas, the snags and the rock bars and taken on surface lures, spinnerbaits and small plastics from spring to autumn; the tidal reaches toward Raymond Terrace hold bream, flathead and estuary perch. The New South Wales closure for bass and estuary perch in rivers, 1 May to 31 August, applies below Chichester Dam; the species card computes it.
Where to fish it
The crossings and reserves around Clarence Town and Glen Martin give bank access to the Williams, and a kayak drifts the reaches between them. The Clarence Town weir and the pools above it are the local spots.
Planning a visit
Glen Martin is near Clarence Town, north of Maitland and Raymond Terrace in the lower Hunter, and those towns have tackle and supplies. Bring bass lures and a kayak, and remember the river closure from May to August; the tidal water toward Raymond Terrace is a different fishery.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Williams responding to rain in the Barrington country and to releases from Chichester; a clear, falling river after a fresh is the time to fish. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm through the bass season; pressure and sky build the score at Glen Martin.
Licence, access and rules
On the Williams the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; see our New South Wales licence page. The crossings and reserves are public, and the bass closure and the DPIRD rules are in the sources.
Common questions
When is bass fishing closed on the Williams River?
From 1 May to 31 August, below Chichester Dam.
What can I catch in the Williams River?
Australian bass; bream, flathead and estuary perch in the tidal reaches.
Do I need a licence on the Williams River?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Williams River at Glen Martin 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 210010 — WILLIAMS RV@GLEN MAR
- 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.