Australian bass
Excellent
Prime. Cast spinnerbaits, small hardbodies and surface lures tight to structure in the rivers; sound up the schools in the dams.
Williams River at Glen Martin Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 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
0.64 m
Air / High
13 °C / 20 °C
Wind
WSW 4 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 210010, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Williams River at Glen Martin sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. The gauge reads 0.64 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 20 °C. Water sits around 21 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:51 PM-1:51 AM and 11:27 AM-1:27 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Bream
Good
Prime bream weather. Cast small vibes, crankbaits and 2 to 3 inch plastics at every piece of structure on the rising tide.
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: 11:51 PM-1:51 AM, 11:27 AM-1:27 PM, 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. Warmer at 27 °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 (05:47), sunset (19:25), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:51 PM-1:51 AM and 11:27 AM-1:27 PM; minor 4:50 AM-5:50 AM. New Moon, 0% 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 2026-11-07 23:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low20 °C / 11 °C
WindWSW 4 km/h, gusts 14 km/h
Pressure1019.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset05:47 / 19:25
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~21 °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 12 Nov, at 5 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 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
- 11:51 PM-1:51 AM and 11:27 AM-1:27 PM
- Minor period
- 4:50 AM-5:50 AM
- Sun
- 05:47 to 19:25
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 4%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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 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.
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. Prime bream weather. Cast small vibes, crankbaits and 2 to 3 inch plastics at every piece of structure on the rising tide.
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 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 Williams River at Glen Martin today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
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 18 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
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 29 °C, wind to 23 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 26 °C, wind to 18 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 below Seaham Weir 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, with catch and release still allowed and two bass a day in the season, only one over 35 cm; 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. Downstream, Hunter Water’s Seaham Weir separates the fresh river from the tidal estuary; its upgraded fishway helps bass move between the two.
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 below Seaham Weir 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. Access is from public crossings and reserves, and the bass closure, the bag limits and Hunter Water’s Seaham Weir notes 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, covers the Williams at Glen Martin.
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
- 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.