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Oak Creek Fishing Report

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

A red-rock trout stream through Oak Creek Canyon above Sedona, with a catch-and-release section and wild and stocked trout, recovering from 2026 post-fire flooding.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
894 cfs
Air / High
56 / 58 F
Wind
SSW 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09504500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Oak Creek asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 894 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:06 AM-11:06 AM and 9:33 PM-11:33 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Arizona requires a fishing licence from age 10, from $37.00 for residents. What a Arizona licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with AZGFD before you keep anything. The season dates for Arizona, read off the agency, are on the Arizona seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Oak Creek near Cornville.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09504500.

2536811,109894 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 83 years of October 23

At 894 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09504500 (Oak Creek near Cornville) is above the highest daily mean on record for the date: much above normal. In half of the 83 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 29 cfs; the highest was 156 cfs and the lowest 17 cfs.

p10 24median 29p90 41

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09504500; 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 temp56 F
High / Low58 / 46 F
WindSSW 4-7 mph
Pressure1013.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset06:39 / 17:42
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 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 Oak Creek this week

Today is the pick of the week on Oak Creek, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:06 AM-11:06 AM and 9:33 PM-11:33 PM
Minor period
3:29 AM-4:29 AM
Sun
06:39 to 17:42
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 14 mph
Rain chance
2%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Oak Creek: 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. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Oak Creek 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
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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 Oak Creek today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 62 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 14 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 72 F, wind to 13 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Arizona fishing license; Arizona no longer requires a trout stamp. Catch-and-release for trout, artificial flies and lures only, barbless hooks, from the SR 89A bridge at Slide Rock State Park upstream to the Sterling Springs Fish Hatchery boundary, including West Fork Oak Creek (AZGFD). Elsewhere statewide limits apply.

Access

Slide Rock State Park (vehicle entry only; entry and swim area close one hour before the park; no lining up on the highway). Forest Service sites along the canyon follow Coconino National Forest closure orders.

About this water

A trout stream through Oak Creek Canyon above Sedona, Coconino County, Arizona; its USGS gauge is near Cornville on the lower creek.

Fishing Oak Creek: the full guide

After the Pocket Fire

In July 2026 heavy rain washed ash and debris from the Pocket Fire burn scar into Oak Creek, and the Coconino National Forest closed the creek. Arizona State Parks says the Slide Rock swim area has since reopened under a revised Forest Service closure order, but flash flooding off the burn scar remains the main safety concern. Check the forest's current closures before you go, and leave the creek when storms build upstream.

Trout above Slide Rock

Arizona State Parks describes healthy wild brown and rainbow trout populations upstream of Slide Rock State Park, supplemented seasonally with AZGFD stocked trout; trout are stocked upstream of the park, not in the Slide Rock section itself, and fishing is not allowed in the park's swimming areas. AZGFD's February 2026 report said anglers were catching Gila, rainbow and brown trout in the canyon.

The catch-and-release section

Since January 1, 2023, AZGFD's catch-and-release section runs from the Highway 89A bridge at Slide Rock State Park upstream to the Sterling Springs Fish Hatchery boundary, including West Fork Oak Creek. There all trout must be released, only artificial flies and lures may be used, and hooks must be barbless.

Mudsnails and the gauge

Oak Creek is on Arizona's list of waters affected by New Zealand mudsnails, so clean and dry waders and boots before fishing anywhere else. The USGS gauge on this page, 09504500 near Cornville, is on the lower creek well below Sedona and the canyon trout water.

Common questions

Is Oak Creek open after the Pocket Fire floods?

Arizona State Parks reports that Slide Rock's swim area has reopened under a revised Forest Service order. Closures can change after storms, so check the Coconino National Forest before fishing.

Can I keep trout above Slide Rock?

Not in the catch-and-release section from the SR 89A bridge at Slide Rock up to the Sterling Springs hatchery boundary and on West Fork: every trout goes back, with barbless artificial flies or lures only.

Do I need a trout stamp for Oak Creek?

No. Arizona no longer sells or requires trout stamps; your fishing or combination hunt-and-fish license is enough.

Is fishing good at Oak Creek 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

Verde River31 miWoods Canyon Lake60 miBartlett Lake72 miLake Pleasant76 miRoosevelt Lake91 miSaguaro Lake93 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09504500 — Oak Creek near Cornville
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.9000, -111.7400 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.