Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Brisbane River at Savages Crossing Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Brisbane River at Savages Crossing below Wivenhoe: Australian bass in the fresh river, with a Bureau gauge at the crossing.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.35 m
Air / High
15 °C / 24 °C
Wind
SE 6 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 143001C, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Brisbane River at Savages Crossing is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 1.35 m, holding steady. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 6 km/h, falling pressure near 1030 hPa and a high of 24 °C. Water sits around 16 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: 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: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Warmer at 27 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Queensland has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. Queensland fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing australian bass here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Australian bass page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Brisbane River at Savages Crossing today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:35), sunset (17:47), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Bureau of Meteorology station 143001C (Brisbane_R Savages).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 143001C. Latest reading 2026-09-24 18:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low24 °C / 13 °C
WindSE 6 km/h, gusts 9 km/h
Pressure1030.2 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain7% cloud, 78%
Sunrise / Sunset05:35 / 17:47
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Brisbane River at Savages Crossing
The best day on Brisbane River at Savages Crossing this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, 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: Thursday, 1 Oct — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:35 to 17:47
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 78%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Brisbane River at Savages Crossing: 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
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 Brisbane River at Savages Crossing 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 Brisbane River at Savages Crossing today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Australian bass led the card at fair. High of 24 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Thu, 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 18 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
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 26 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence; permits apply on some waters and the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by Queensland DPI and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Queensland licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Queensland has no general fishing licence, and this river reach is not a stocked impoundment; the size and bag limits apply, on the pages linked below.
About this water
Brisbane River at Savages Crossing is a river in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Brisbane River at Savages Crossing: the full guide
The Brisbane at Savages Crossing
Savages Crossing is the low-level crossing on the Brisbane River below Wivenhoe Dam, near Fernvale in the Somerset region west of Brisbane, where the river runs fresh over gravel and through long pools between farmland and casuarinas. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Savages Crossing supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Wivenhoe Dam and the Brisbane River have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are the fish of the Brisbane River below Wivenhoe, holding in the pools and along the casuarina banks, taken on surface lures, spinnerbaits and soft plastics; golden perch and catfish are also caught. Queensland closes bass in tidal waters from 1 June to 31 August; this fresh reach is not tidal, and the Queensland size and bag limits apply.
Where to fish it
The Savages Crossing park and the crossings along the river road give access, and a kayak is the best way to fish the long pools between them. The crossing floods when Wivenhoe releases.
Planning a visit
Fernvale, nearby, has supplies, and Brisbane is about an hour away. Bring bass gear and a kayak, and check the Wivenhoe release notices before you go.
The river through the year
The Brisbane River below Wivenhoe Dam runs through farmland and casuarinas past Savages Crossing and Fernvale toward the tidal river at Ipswich and Brisbane. Its level here is controlled by releases from Wivenhoe, and after heavy rain the dam releases can flood the crossing for days; the chart shows them. Between releases the river is clear and slow, and the bass hold in the pools and the snags, most active on summer evenings.
Reading this report here
The chart matters here: releases from Wivenhoe raise the river quickly and can close the crossing. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm for most of the year; pressure and sky build the score at Savages Crossing.
Licence, access and rules
Queensland has no general fishing licence, and this river reach is not a stocked impoundment; the size and bag limits apply, on the pages linked below. The parks and crossings are public.
Common questions
What can I catch at Savages Crossing?
Australian bass, with golden perch and catfish.
Do I need a permit here?
No. Queensland has no general licence, and the river is not a stocked impoundment.
Is the crossing always open?
No. It floods when Wivenhoe releases water; check the release notices.
Is fishing good at Brisbane River at Savages Crossing 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 143001C — Brisbane_R Savages
- 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.