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Little Susitna River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Little Susitna River: a Mat-Su salmon river whose king and coho fisheries ADF&G closed in 2026 to protect weak runs.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
122 cfs
Air / High
28 / 35 F
Wind
NNW 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 15290000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Little Susitna River feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The river is running 122 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNW around 4 mph, falling pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 35. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 11:03 PM-1:03 AM and 10:39 AM-12:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Tomorrow: Similar at 37 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Water and weather

Live readings from Little Susitna River near Palmer.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 15290000.

167251334122 cfs09/2310/0210/1210/23

Today’s flow against 78 years of October 23

At 122 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 15290000 (Little Susitna River near Palmer) is at the 63rd percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 78 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 106 cfs; the highest was 601 cfs and the lowest 39 cfs.

p10 67median 106p90 192

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 15290000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp28 F
High / Low35 / 22 F
WindNNW 4-10 mph
Pressure1029.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset09:05 / 18:22
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)32 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Little Susitna River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Little Susitna River, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
11:03 PM-1:03 AM and 10:39 AM-12:39 PM
Minor period
5:15 AM-6:15 AM
Sun
09:05 to 18:22
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Little Susitna River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

When to come: the Little Susitna River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Little Susitna River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 35 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 38 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 42 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Alaska requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Alaska sport fishing license. In 2026 king salmon fishing was closed through July 13, and coho 16 inches or longer may not be kept through December 31 (ADF&G emergency orders). Read ADF&G's Northern Cook Inlet emergency orders before every trip.

Access

Little Susitna Public Use Facility (ADF&G), 30428 W. Little Susitna River Access Road: two-lane launch, campground and fishing platforms.

About this water

A Matanuska-Susitna Borough salmon river draining to upper Cook Inlet; flow from USGS 15290000 near Palmer.

Fishing Little Susitna River: the full guide

What the river holds

ADF&G lists king, silver (coho), chum, red and pink salmon in the Little Susitna, along with some Dolly Varden and rainbow trout. The flow gauge on this page is USGS 15290000, Little Susitna River near Palmer, high in the drainage.

2026: kings and coho closed

ADF&G closed Units 1-6 of the Susitna drainage and the Little Susitna to king salmon fishing from May 1 through July 13, 2026: kings could not be targeted or kept. No king salmon goals were met in Northern Cook Inlet from 2023 to 2025, and the 2026 forecast showed no harvestable surplus. In August the department first cut coho limits and banned bait, then barred keeping coho 16 inches or longer from August 19 to the end of the year, after only 1,385 coho had passed the Little Susitna weir by August 17 against a goal of 9,200 to 17,700.

Access near the mouth

The Little Susitna Public Use Facility, owned and run by ADF&G inside the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge, has a two-lane boat launch, about 40 campsites, an RV dump, a fish-cleaning table, fishing platforms and seven boat-in campsites upstream. Most bank fishing happens within half a river mile of the launch parking lot, mainly downstream. It is reached from Knik Goose Bay Road by way of Point MacKenzie Road and Burma Road.

Common questions

Can I fish for kings?

Not in 2026: ADF&G closed the Little Susitna to king salmon fishing from May 1 to July 13, and any king caught by accident had to be released without leaving the water.

What about silvers?

From August 19, 2026, coho 16 inches or longer may not be kept for the rest of the year, because the weir count was far below the escapement goal.

Where is the main access?

The ADF&G Little Susitna Public Use Facility near the mouth, with a two-lane launch and platforms for bank anglers.

Is fishing good at Little Susitna River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Talkeetna River61 miRussian River69 miSkilak Lake71 miKenai River72 miKenai Lake76 miKasilof River85 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 15290000 β€” Little Susitna River near Palmer
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 61.4377, -150.1742 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

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.