Coho salmon
Excellent
The river run. Float gear with roe or a jig, or cast spinners and spoons in the slower tailouts after a rise in water.
Skeena River at Terrace Fishing Report
Updated Fri, Sep 25, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Skeena near Terrace: one of the world’s great steelhead rivers, with chinook, coho and a live gauge at Usk.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
5.01 m426 m³/s
Air / High
5 °C / 15 °C
Wind
ENE 4 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 08EF001, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Skeena River at Terrace has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 5.01 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind ENE around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 15 °C. Water sits around 11 °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.
Chinook (spring) salmon
Good
Fish are staging or moving to the rivers. On the coast, the deeper banks and the winter feeders; in Great Lakes rivers, drifted roe and spinners in the deeper runs.
Steelhead
Fair
Fall fish on the move: float fishing with roe, beads or jigs, and swung flies through the tailouts.
Tie on: Float and roe · Swung fly through the tailout · Jerkbait, long pauses · Hair jig on the rock. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 12 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
British Columbia requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$11.43. British Columbia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing steelhead here? Check the size and bag limits with BC Freshwater Fishing before you keep anything; the Steelhead page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Skeena River at Terrace today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (07:25), sunset (19:24), 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 Water Survey of Canada station 08EF001 (SKEENA RIVER AT USK).
River level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08EF001. Latest reading 2026-09-25 04:35.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp5 °C
High / Low15 °C / 5 °C
WindENE 4 km/h, gusts 18 km/h
Pressure101.10 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain89% cloud, 16%
Sunrise / Sunset07:25 / 19:24
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~11 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Skeena River at Terrace
Today is the pick of the week on Skeena River at Terrace, at 3 out of 5. 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: today, Sep 25 — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, Sep 25 — 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
- 07:25 to 19:24
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 5 km/h
- Rain chance
- 16%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Skeena River at Terrace: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Steelhead
BC: winter run December to April, summer run into fall; Great Lakes: fall and spring
Sea-run rainbow trout, the fish of the Vedder, the Skeena system and the Island rivers in winter, and of the Great Lakes tributaries in fall and spring. In BC wild steelhead are released; a steelhead conservation surcharge applies on top of the licence. Fall fish on the move: float fishing with roe, beads or jigs, and swung flies through the tailouts.
Coho salmon
BC coast: July to September; rivers: October and November
Silver, aggressive and surface-oriented. Feeds hard along the BC coast through summer and runs the Fraser Valley and Island rivers in fall, the Vedder and the Stamp among them. Hatchery coho are marked by a clipped adipose fin; what may be kept depends on the water and the DFO notice. The river run. Float gear with roe or a jig, or cast spinners and spoons in the slower tailouts after a rise in water.
Chinook (spring) salmon
BC coast: spring to late summer; Great Lakes tributaries: September and October
The biggest Pacific salmon, called spring or king on the BC coast. Feeds along the kelp lines, points and tide rips of the BC coast before running rivers in late summer; introduced to the Great Lakes, where it runs the tributaries in fall. Retention on the BC coast changes by area and by DFO fishery notice. Fish are staging or moving to the rivers. On the coast, the deeper banks and the winter feeders; in Great Lakes rivers, drifted roe and spinners in the deeper runs.
Sockeye salmon
Summer, only when DFO opens a fishery
The Fraser and Skeena salmon, prized and tightly managed. Recreational sockeye fisheries open only by DFO notice in years when the run allows; many years they stay closed. Out of season.
When to come: the Skeena River at Terrace calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian 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
Steelhead
Coho salmon
Chinook (spring) salmon
Sockeye salmon
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 11 °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 Skeena River at Terrace 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. Coho salmon led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 5 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Coho salmon led the card at excellent. High of 10 °C, wind to 8 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Coho salmon led the card at excellent. High of 13 °C, wind to 6 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
BC freshwater fishing licence, from C$11.43 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by BC Freshwater Fishing and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the British Columbia licence page before you keep anything.
Access
A BC freshwater licence is needed, with the steelhead surcharge, the non-tidal salmon surcharge, and a classified waters licence on the classified tributaries.
About this water
Skeena River at Terrace is a river in British Columbia, Canada, covered from the British Columbia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Skeena River at Terrace: the full guide
The Skeena near Terrace
The Skeena is the second-longest river entirely in British Columbia, draining a huge basin of the north before it reaches the sea near Prince Rupert, and its steelhead, bound for tributaries such as the Kispiox, the Babine, the Bulkley and the Kitsumkalum, have made it famous among anglers around the world. Terrace is the base for the lower river. The Water Survey of Canada gauge at Usk, above Terrace, supplies the level, the flow and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Chinook run in early summer, sockeye and pink salmon in midsummer, and coho in late summer and fall; summer steelhead move through from late summer into fall and are released, as wild steelhead are throughout BC. Retention of salmon is set by DFO and the synopsis, and the Skeena system has its own in-season management.
Where to fish it
The main stem near Terrace is fished from the bank and by jet boat, on the bars and at the mouths of the tributaries such as the Kitsumkalum. Many of the Skeena’s tributaries are classified waters, with extra licences and rules for anglers.
Planning a visit
Terrace is on Highway 16, with an airport, lodges and guides; Prince Rupert is ninety minutes to the west. The river is big and fast: wading and boating demand experience or a guide.
The water through the year
Snowmelt from the interior raises the Skeena from late spring into summer; the fall rains bring surges; the river is lowest and clearest in late winter. The steelhead fishing follows the fall flows.
Reading this report here
The gauge at Usk shows the freshet and the fall rises; a dropping, clearing river after rain is the time to fish. The chart shows the last 30 days, and pressure and sky build the score.
Licence, access and rules
A BC freshwater licence is needed, with the steelhead surcharge, the non-tidal salmon surcharge, and a classified waters licence on the classified tributaries. The rules and in-season notices are linked below.
Common questions
Is the Skeena good for steelhead?
It is one of the world’s best-known steelhead rivers; wild steelhead are released.
What are classified waters on the Skeena?
Tributaries with extra licences and rules for anglers, listed in the BC synopsis.
When do salmon run in the Skeena?
Chinook in early summer, sockeye and pinks in midsummer, coho in late summer and fall.
Is fishing good at Skeena River at Terrace 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
- Water level and flow readings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08EF001 — SKEENA RIVER AT USK
- 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.