Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Hinze Dam Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Gold Coast’s dam in the hinterland: bass, saratoga and golden perch at Advancetown, permit-only shore and electric-boat fishing, with a Bureau gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
93.65 m298,210 ML
Air / High
26 °C / 26 °C
Wind
SE 5 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 146033A, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Hinze Dam has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 93.65 m, easing 0.07 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SE around 5 km/h, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 26 °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 26 °C with a rain chance. 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 Hinze Dam today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:02), sunset (18:12), 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 146033A (Nerang R at Hinze Dam HW).
Storage level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 146033A. Latest reading 2026-09-24 08:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low26 °C / 25 °C
WindSE 5 km/h, gusts 9 km/h
Pressure1014.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain36% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset06:02 / 18:12
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Hinze Dam
Today is the pick of the week on Hinze Dam, at 3 out of 5. 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: today, 25 Sept — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
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
- 06:02 to 18:12
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 4%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Hinze Dam: 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.
Golden perch
Best: November to April
Yellowbelly. The bread-and-butter native of the Murray-Darling lakes and rivers; loves warm water, structure and a lure worked slowly past its nose. Slower. Work the deeper timber and the drop-offs with vibes and bait.
When to come: the Hinze Dam 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
Golden perch
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 Hinze Dam 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 27 °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 16 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 26 °C, wind to 14 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
Hinze is a Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme water; the permit, from age 18, costs A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year, as read from the Queensland Government, with details on our Queensland licence page.
About this water
Hinze Dam is a lake in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Hinze Dam: the full guide
The lake
Hinze Dam holds the Nerang River at Advancetown in the Gold Coast hinterland, the city’s water supply, raised twice and now a deep lake under the Springbrook and Numinbah ranges with a recreation area, a ramp for the craft the authority allows and shore fishing from designated areas. It is bass water twenty minutes from the coast, and the Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at the dam supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Australian bass are stocked and school in the deep water off the points in winter and spread along the edges and the timber in summer; saratoga fish the surface along the timber at dawn; golden perch are stocked and fish the points from spring to autumn; Mary River cod are stocked and protected; silver perch are present; and red claw are a pot fishery where allowed. The stocking group publishes its releases. Boating is electric motor only under the authority’s rules.
Where to fish it
The recreation area at the wall has the designated shore fishing and the ramp for electric-powered craft, and the timbered arms up the Nerang and the Little Nerang are the bass and saratoga water; the deep water off the wall holds the winter schools. The authority sets the hours and the areas, posted at the gate.
Reading the report
The subtropical hinterland gives the water temperature estimate, labelled as one, a long bass season with a short deep-school winter; the chart shows the supply draw-down. The ranges shelter the water from much of the wind; the rain row matters, because the ranges get heavy summer rain and the lake rises fast; pressure counts before a storm.
Permits, access and rules
Hinze is a Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme water; the permit, from age 18, costs A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year, as read from the Queensland Government, with details on our Queensland licence page. Shore fishing in the designated areas and electric-motor boating under the water authority’s rules; the Queensland rules and the protection of Mary River cod are in the sources.
Common questions
Can I fish Hinze Dam?
From the designated shore areas at the recreation area and by electric-powered boat from the ramp, under the water authority’s rules and hours.
Do I need a permit at Hinze Dam?
Yes, from age 18: the Stocked Impoundment Permit, A$13.60 a week or A$64.58 a year.
Is fishing good at Hinze Dam 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 146033A — Nerang R at Hinze Dam HW
- 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.