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 Orbost Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The lower Snowy at Orbost: Australian bass and estuary perch on the river flats above the estuary, with a Bureau gauge at the town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.74 m
Air / High
13 °C / 26 °C
Wind
WNW 3 km/h
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology gauge 222201, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Snowy River at Orbost has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.74 m, easing 0.07 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 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.
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. 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 Orbost today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:51), sunset (18:04), 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 222201 (SNOWY R @ ORBOST).
River level, last 30 days
Bureau of Meteorology Water Data Online, station 222201. Latest reading 2026-09-24 10:00.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low26 °C / 13 °C
WindWNW 3 km/h, gusts 5 km/h
Pressure1024.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain71% cloud, 66%
Sunrise / Sunset05:51 / 18:04
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Snowy River at Orbost
The best day on Snowy River at Orbost 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, 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
- 05:51 to 18:04
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 66%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Snowy River at Orbost: 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.
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 Snowy River at Orbost 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 Snowy River at Orbost 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 24 °C, wind to 10 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 18 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
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 16 °C, wind to 18 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
At Orbost the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees.
About this water
Snowy River at Orbost is a river in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Snowy River at Orbost: the full guide
The Snowy at Orbost
Orbost is the East Gippsland town on the lower Snowy River, where the river, after its run through the mountains, spreads across the fertile river flats toward the estuary at Marlo. The Bureau of Meteorology’s gauge at Orbost supplies the river level and the 30-day chart on this page. Marlo at the mouth and the Snowy in the New South Wales mountains have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Australian bass and estuary perch are the fish of the lower Snowy around Orbost, holding in the snags and the deeper bends, taken on lures and bait; black bream move up from the estuary. The VFA sets the size and bag limits for these species, linked in the sources.
Where to fish it
The riverside reserves and the old rail bridge at Orbost give bank access, and a kayak or a small boat covers the reaches downstream toward the Brodribb junction and Marlo. The flats between are private farmland, so stay on public access. The deep bends near the town and the snags along the flats toward the Brodribb are where the bass and the estuary perch sit; a surface lure at dusk on a warm evening is the classic Orbost session. Bream move up from Marlo on the tide in the warmer months.
Planning a visit
Orbost is on the Princes Highway in East Gippsland, with supplies and accommodation, and Marlo at the mouth is a short drive south. Bring bass and estuary perch lures and a kayak for the reaches toward the Brodribb; the river rises fast after heavy rain in the ranges.
Reading this report here
The chart shows the Snowy’s flow, which rises after heavy rain in the East Gippsland ranges and with environmental releases from upstream. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, is warm in summer, the bass months; pressure and sky build the score at Orbost.
Licence, access and rules
At Orbost the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the fees. The VFA limits are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Snowy at Orbost?
Australian bass, estuary perch and black bream.
Where does the Snowy meet the sea?
At Marlo, below Orbost; Marlo has its own page.
Do I need a licence at Orbost?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Snowy River at Orbost 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 222201 — SNOWY R @ ORBOST
- 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.