Australian bass
Fair
Dam fish school deep; vertical jig plastics and blades over them. Rivers slow, and closed in NSW from June.
Snowy River at McKillops Bridge Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Snowy at McKillops Bridge in the Snowy River National Park: bass in a wild gorge river, with a Bureau gauge at the bridge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.88 m
Air / High
11 °C / 23 °C
Wind
SSW 7 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 222209, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Snowy River at McKillops Bridge has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.88 m, easing 0.13 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSW around 8 km/h, steady pressure near 1032 hPa and a high of 23 °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. Cooler at 16 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Victoria requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$10.00. Victoria fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing australian bass here? Check the size and bag limits with VFA before you keep anything; the Australian bass page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Snowy River at McKillops Bridge today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:50), sunset (18:05), 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 222209 (SNOWY @ MCKILLOP BR.).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 222209. Latest reading 2026-09-25 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low23 °C / 10 °C
WindSSW 7 km/h, gusts 27 km/h
Pressure1032.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:50 / 18:05
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Snowy River at McKillops Bridge
The best day on Snowy River at McKillops Bridge 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, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
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
- 05:50 to 18:05
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 18 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Snowy River at McKillops Bridge: 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 Snowy River at McKillops Bridge 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 Snowy River at McKillops Bridge 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 29 °C, wind to 11 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 29 °C, wind to 11 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 24 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), from A$10.00, 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 VFA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Victoria licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies here unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Snowy River at McKillops Bridge is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Snowy River at McKillops Bridge: the full guide
The Snowy at McKillops Bridge
McKillops Bridge crosses the Snowy River deep in the Snowy River National Park in far East Gippsland, on the winding road between Buchan and the Monaro, where the river runs between sandy beaches and gorge walls. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at McKillops Bridge supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. The Snowy at Orbost and at Dalgety have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass move up the Snowy into the gorge country and are the fish anglers target at McKillops Bridge, on surface lures and small hardbodies in the warm months; estuary perch are found lower down. The VFA sets the limits for bass, linked in the sources.
Where to fish it
The beaches and campsites at McKillops Bridge give access to the river, and the pools up and downstream are reached on foot or by canoe. It is a classic Snowy River camp.
Planning a visit
McKillops Bridge is reached on narrow, steep gravel roads from Buchan or the Monaro, with no services; carry everything you need and check road conditions.
The river through the year
The Snowy at McKillops Bridge carries much less water than it once did, because the Snowy Mountains Scheme diverts most of the upper river at Jindabyne; environmental flows released since the early 2000s have returned part of it. Its bass migrate down to the estuary near Marlo to spawn in winter and return upstream in spring, feeding through summer in the pools. The bridge is a long drive on winding mountain roads from Buchan or the Monaro, and the camping ground beside the river is the base.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Snowy’s flow, which depends on releases from the Snowy scheme and on rain in the gorges. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer; pressure and sky build the score at McKillops Bridge.
Licence, access and rules
The Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies here unless exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The national park rules and the VFA limits are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at McKillops Bridge?
Australian bass, in the warm months.
How do I get to McKillops Bridge?
On narrow gravel roads from Buchan or the Monaro, with no services on the way.
Do I need a licence here?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Snowy River at McKillops Bridge 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 222209 — SNOWY @ MCKILLOP BR.
- 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.