Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Margaree on Cape Breton: catch-and-release Atlantic salmon on the barbless fly from June to October, with a live gauge on the Northeast Margaree.
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 01FB001, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Margaree River is in its winter rhythm: slow, deep and around the brightest hours. The gauge reads 0.91 m, up 0.50 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 19 km/h, rising pressure near 1001 hPa and a high of 11 °C. Water sits around 4 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:02 AM-1:02 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Catch and release reopens Jun 1, 2027. Catch and release only. The main Margaree from East Margaree up to the Big Intervale bridges and to the Scotsville bridge is open 1 June to 31 October; the rest of the system and its tributaries 1 June to 15 October; the Northeast Margaree above Big Intervale is closed all year. Four fish a day, barbless artificial fly.
Reopens Apr 15, 2027. Closed to all angling 1 to 14 April; brook trout 3 a day from 15 April to 31 August, only one over 35 cm; every brook trout released in September. Artificial fly only from 1 June, 6 am to 10 pm.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 11:26 PM-1:26 AM, 11:02 AM-1:02 PM, 7:12 AM-8:12 AM. Cooler at 8 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Nova Scotia requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$13.04. Nova Scotia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing atlantic salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with Nova Scotia before you keep anything; the Atlantic salmon page has the seasons and the tactics.
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:57), sunset (16:38), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Solunar majors 11:26 PM-1:26 AM and 11:02 AM-1:02 PM; minor 7:12 AM-8:12 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 01FB001 (NORTHEAST MARGAREE RIVER AT MARGAREE VALLEY).
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 01FB001. Latest reading 2026-11-09 08:05.
Latest readings
The best day on Margaree River this week looks like Saturday Nov 14, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Saturday, Nov 14 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
The species that matter on Margaree River: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Closed now Catch and release reopens Jun 1, 2027. Catch and release only. The main Margaree from East Margaree up to the Big Intervale bridges and to the Scotsville bridge is open 1 June to 31 October; the rest of the system and its tributaries 1 June to 15 October; the Northeast Margaree above Big Intervale is closed all year. Four fish a day, barbless artificial fly. Rule as read from Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture on 2026-09-27.
The fish of the Miramichi and the Margaree. Fly fishing only, with retention rules by river and size (many rivers are catch-and-release for large salmon) and a salmon licence or tags on top of the general licence.
Closed now Reopens Apr 15, 2027. Closed to all angling 1 to 14 April; brook trout 3 a day from 15 April to 31 August, only one over 35 cm; every brook trout released in September. Artificial fly only from 1 June, 6 am to 10 pm. Rule as read from Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture on 2026-09-27.
The native speckled trout of eastern Canada, in the rivers and lakes of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario, and stocked in western lakes.
Closed parts of this water today: Northeast Margaree above Big Intervale (all year). The Northeast Margaree above the Big Intervale bridges is closed all year to all species. Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 4 °C (estimated, not a reading).
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.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Atlantic salmon led the card at fair. High of 15 °C, wind to 32 km/h.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Atlantic salmon led the card at fair. High of 15 °C, wind to 34 km/h.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Atlantic salmon led the card at fair. High of 19 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Nova Scotia general and salmon fishing licences, from C$13.04 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by Nova Scotia 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 Nova Scotia licence page before you keep anything. The zone-by-zone seasons and limits are on Nova Scotia fishing seasons.
In Nova Scotia a salmon licence alone covers angling for Atlantic salmon from age 16; the general fishing licence is needed only to fish non-tidal water for other species, such as trout.
Margaree River is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada, covered from the Nova Scotia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
The Margaree River drains a valley in western Cape Breton, its Northeast and Southwest branches meeting at Margaree Forks before the river reaches the Gulf of St. Lawrence at Margaree Harbour. It is one of the Nova Scotia rivers still open to salmon angling in 2026, when the province’s season notice keeps Salmon Fishing Areas 20, 21 and 22 closed all year. The Water Survey of Canada gauge on the Northeast Margaree at Margaree Valley, station 01FB001, supplies the level, the flow and the 30-day chart on this page.
All Atlantic salmon must be released, up to four grilse or salmon a day, and only barbless artificial flies may be used. The 2026 season runs from 1 June to 15 October on most of the system and to 31 October on the main river above the East Margaree bridges, up to the Big Intervale bridges and the Scotsville bridge. The Northeast Margaree above Big Intervale is closed all year to all species. Brook trout are fished under the province’s special trout rules for the river.
The pools of the Northeast Margaree below Big Intervale and the main river down to East Margaree carry the longer season, reached from the valley roads; the Southwest branch is fished as well. From 1 June the Special Trout Management Area on the river is artificial fly only for every species, and fishing there is allowed only between 6 am and 10 pm.
Nova Scotia does not require non-residents to hire a guide for salmon, unlike New Brunswick, though a local guide shortens the learning curve on pools and access. Every salmon licence comes with a report card: return it within seven days of the season’s close even if you released no fish or never fished, or risk a fine. Bring a wading staff for the fast gravel runs.
Spring runoff and summer rain raise the river, and the fall salmon need rain to move up. DFO’s Warm Water Protocol covers the Margaree: when the water warms, fishing hours can be cut or the river or some pools closed to every species, and notices are posted in the salmon section of DFO Gulf Region’s recreational fisheries page.
The gauge on the Northeast Margaree shows the rises the fall run depends on; a reading that jumps after heavy rain usually means fast, coloured water for a day or two before the river clears and the fish move. A month of readings is charted, and the score draws on pressure and sky over the valley.
In Nova Scotia a salmon licence alone covers angling for Atlantic salmon from age 16; the general fishing licence is needed only to fish non-tidal water for other species, such as trout. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets the salmon seasons through variation orders; the province’s 2026 salmon overview and anglers’ handbook are linked below, and our Nova Scotia licence page has the fees.
In 2026, from 1 June to 15 October on most of the system and to 31 October on the middle river; every salmon must be released.
Not for salmon: the salmon licence covers Atlantic salmon, and the general licence is needed only for other species in non-tidal water.
No, Nova Scotia does not require non-residents to hire a guide to fish for salmon.
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.
Pablo Ruiz QuinteroReadings 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.