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Salt River Fishing Report

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

The Lower Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam, east of Phoenix: a dam-controlled desert river where seasonal bald eagle closures and quagga mussel rules apply.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
7 cfs
Air / High
77 / 81 F
Wind
NW 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09502000, 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.

Salt River lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The river is running 7 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 7 mph, steady pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 81. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:05 AM-11:05 AM and 9:33 PM-11:33 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 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 largemouth bass 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 Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09502000.

1454036617 cfs09/2310/0210/1110/23

Today’s flow against 88 years of October 23

At 7 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09502000 (Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam) is at the 16th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 88 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 308 cfs; the highest was 1,290 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 4median 308p90 951

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09502000; 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 temp77 F
High / Low81 / 61 F
WindNW 7-12 mph
Pressure1011.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 17:43
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 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 Salt River this week

The best day on Salt River this week looks like Tuesday Oct 27, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Tuesday, Oct 27 — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:05 AM-11:05 AM and 9:33 PM-11:33 PM
Minor period
3:28 AM-4:28 AM
Sun
06:37 to 17:43
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 8 mph
Rain chance
1%

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

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

When to come: the Salt 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
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 Salt River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 82 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 91 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 90 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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. No site-specific limits are listed for the Lower Salt River in the 2025-2026 Arizona regulations (valid through Dec. 31, 2026), so statewide limits apply; see AZGFD's current regulations. The Lower Salt and Verde rivers are on AZGFD's list of aquatic invasive species waters (quagga mussel, apple snail, New Zealand mudsnail): clean, drain and dry boats and gear before leaving.

Access

Recreation sites along the river are on the Tonto National Forest; check the Mesa Ranger District for site status and passes, and watch for the seasonal eagle closure signs from Dec. 1 to June 30.

About this water

The Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam (Saguaro Lake), Maricopa County, Arizona. Flow on this page comes from USGS gauge 09502000, Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam.

Fishing Salt River: the full guide

The river below the dam

This page follows the Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam, which impounds Saguaro Lake, on the eastern edge of the Phoenix area in Maricopa County. Flows are set by releases from the dam: on the morning of Oct. 8, 2026 USGS gauge 09502000 below the dam read 676 cubic feet per second.

Seasonal closures for bald eagles

Arizona Game and Fish closes the south side of the Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam to vehicle and foot entry from Dec. 1 to June 30 to protect a bald eagle breeding area; floating through is allowed. The north side near the Goldfield-Kerr fire station is closed the same way over the same dates. The Tonto National Forest's Mesa Ranger District is the contact AZGFD lists for both.

Fish on the record books

Arizona's state fish records list the Lower Salt River for a 3-pound, 14.9-ounce roundtail chub (1984) and for Sonora and desert sucker entries. Roundtail chub are catch-and-release only statewide.

Common questions

Are parts of the Lower Salt closed in winter and spring?

Yes. From Dec. 1 to June 30 AZGFD closes the south bank below Stewart Mountain Dam and the north bank near the Goldfield-Kerr fire station to foot and vehicle entry for nesting bald eagles; you may float through.

Do I have to treat my boat after fishing the Lower Salt?

Yes. The Lower Salt and Verde rivers are listed aquatic invasive species waters, so boats and gear must be cleaned, drained and dried before use elsewhere.

Is fishing good at Salt River 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

Saguaro Lake3 miCanyon Lake (AZ)8 miApache Lake15 miBartlett Lake21 miRoosevelt Lake28 miLake Pleasant47 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09502000 — Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam
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 33.5528, -111.5765 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 8, 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 8, 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.