Margaree River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, Sep 25, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Margaree on Cape Breton: fall Atlantic salmon on the fly in a green valley, with a live gauge on the Northeast Margaree.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.26 m6.9 m³/s
Air / High
16 °C / 19 °C
Wind
N 3 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 01FB001, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Margaree River rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 0.26 m, easing 0.22 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 19 °C. Water sits around 14 °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.
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. Similar at 20 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
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.
Fishing times for Margaree River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:55), sunset (18:55), 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 01FB001 (NORTHEAST MARGAREE RIVER AT MARGAREE VALLEY).
River level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 01FB001. Latest reading 2026-09-25 08:05.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low19 °C / 8 °C
WindN 3 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure102.56 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain17% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:55 / 18:55
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~14 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Margaree River
The best day on Margaree River this week looks like Monday Sep 28, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today. 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: Monday, Sep 28 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Sep 25 — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:55 to 18:55
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 8 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
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.
Atlantic salmon
Summer and fall runs, fly fishing only
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. The fall run: swung flies and dry flies on the pools as fish move up.
Brook trout
Spring, and the ice in winter
The native speckled trout of eastern Canada, in the rivers and lakes of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario, and stocked in western lakes. The best of the year: fish move shallow and feed before the fall spawn.
Striped bass
Spring on the Miramichi
A spring run in the Miramichi estuary, with retention limits set by DFO that change year to year. The run has passed.
When to come: the Margaree River 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
Atlantic salmon
Brook trout
Striped bass
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 14 °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 Margaree River today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Atlantic salmon led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Atlantic salmon led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Atlantic salmon led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
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 →
Regulations
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.
Access
A Nova Scotia general fishing licence and a salmon licence are needed, and the salmon rules are set by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
About this water
Margaree River is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada, covered from the Nova Scotia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Margaree River: the full guide
The Margaree River
The Margaree River flows through a wide green 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 Nova Scotia’s best-known Atlantic salmon river, fished with the fly, above all in the fall. The Water Survey of Canada gauge on the Northeast Margaree at Margaree Valley supplies the level, the flow and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Atlantic salmon run from summer into the fall, with the fall run the most famous, fished only with the fly under rules set by Fisheries and Oceans Canada; sea-run and resident brook trout are fished in the river too. The salmon rules change from year to year.
Where to fish it
The pools of the Northeast Margaree, from the forks up the valley, are the classic salmon water, reached from the valley road; the Southwest branch and the lower river are fished too. The Southwest Margaree flows out of Lake Ainslie, the largest freshwater lake on Cape Breton, and Margaree Harbour at the mouth has a small wharf and Gulf beaches.
Planning a visit
The Margaree Valley is on the Cabot Trail, about ninety minutes from the Canso Causeway; the Margaree Salmon Museum at North East Margaree tells the river’s story. Fall is also the season of the Cabot Trail’s colours and its visitors. Bring a wading staff.
The water through the year
Spring runoff and summer rain raise the river; the fall salmon need rain to move up; warm, low water in summer can bring closures to protect the fish.
Reading this report here
The gauge on the Northeast Margaree shows the rises the fall run depends on; the chart shows the last 30 days. Pressure and sky build the score.
Licence, access and rules
A Nova Scotia general fishing licence and a salmon licence are needed, and the salmon rules are set by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The rules are linked below, and our Nova Scotia licence page has the fees.
Common questions
When is the Margaree salmon run?
From summer into the fall, with the fall run the most famous.
Where is the Margaree River?
In western Cape Breton, on the Cabot Trail.
Do I need a salmon licence on the Margaree?
Yes, a Nova Scotia salmon licence on top of the general fishing licence.
Is fishing good at Margaree River right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
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 01FB001 — NORTHEAST MARGAREE RIVER AT MARGAREE VALLEY
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Fish stocking
- Nova Scotia fish stocking report
- 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.