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Naugatuck River Fishing Report

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

Naugatuck River: a Connecticut river with a year-round catch-and-release trout area and two Atlantic salmon management sections.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
46 cfs
Air / High
49 / 55 F
Wind
NE 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01206900, 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.

Naugatuck River is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 46 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 55. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:25 AM-11:25 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Chinook salmonSlow

Most adult runs have spawned by now. In Washington, winter and early spring bring blackmouth fishing near the bottom in 60 to 200 feet of water where seasons are open.

Tomorrow: Similar at 57 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Connecticut requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $28.00 for residents. What a Connecticut licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing chinook salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with CT DEEP before you keep anything. The season dates for Connecticut, read off the agency, are on the Connecticut seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Naugatuck River at Thomaston.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01206900.

7016225446 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 66 years of October 23

At 46 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01206900 (Naugatuck River at Thomaston) is at the 32nd percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 66 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 70 cfs; the highest was 2,620 cfs and the lowest 14 cfs.

p10 21median 70p90 245

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01206900; 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 temp49 F
High / Low55 / 39 F
WindNE 10-20 mph
Pressure1027.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:13 / 17:58
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 Naugatuck River this week

The best day on Naugatuck River this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:25 AM-11:25 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM
Minor period
3:47 AM-4:47 AM
Sun
07:13 to 17:58
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Seasons follow the runs: spring, summer and fall runs on the West Coast, and late summer into fall in Great Lakes rivers

The largest Pacific salmon, caught by trolling and mooching at sea and by drifting and plunking in rivers as adults return to spawn; also stocked in the Great Lakes. Most adult runs have spawned by now. In Washington, winter and early spring bring blackmouth fishing near the bottom in 60 to 200 feet of water where seasons are open.

When to come: the Naugatuck 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
Chinook salmon
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 Naugatuck River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Chinook salmon led the card at fair. High of 64 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Chinook salmon led the card at fair. High of 58 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Chinook salmon led the card at slow. High of 64 F, wind to 13 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

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

Regulations

Connecticut fishing license; trout and salmon stamp inside the TMA. TMA: catch-and-release all year. Atlantic salmon methods and creel limits are set each year by the Commissioner's Declaration, and taking salmon is prohibited outside the waters it lists.

Access

No specific access points were verified on a current DEEP page for this guide. The USGS gauge on the Naugatuck at Thomaston (01206900) reports flow.

About this water

Naugatuck River, western Connecticut: catch-and-release TMA in Litchfield, Harwinton and Thomaston, and salmon management sections from Route 118 to the Thomaston Dam and from Naugatuck to Beacon Falls.

Fishing Naugatuck River: the full guide

Trout Management Area

Connecticut DEEP lists the Naugatuck River in Litchfield, Harwinton and Thomaston as one of 10 year-round catch-and-release Trout Management Areas, where no trout may be kept at any time. A trout and salmon stamp is required, in addition to a fishing license, to fish in any TMA.

Atlantic salmon management areas

DEEP stocks adult Atlantic salmon each fall, starting in September as river conditions allow. On the Naugatuck, the management areas are the upper section, from Route 118 (Harwinton-Litchfield) down to the Thomaston Dam, and the lower section, from Prospect Street in Naugatuck down to Pines Bridge Road in Beacon Falls. From September 1 to March 31, anyone fishing these sections, for any species, must use the methods in that year's Commissioner's Declaration.

Where the salmon come from

Connecticut began stocking soon-to-be-retired broodstock salmon in the Naugatuck and Shetucket in 1991. DEEP now raises about 1,000 to 1,200 salmon of 2 to 5 pounds a year for this fishery and stocks another 200 to 250 spawned broodstock averaging 10 to 15 pounds. A tagging study is under way: fish stocked in fall 2024 carry orange tags and those stocked in fall 2025 blue tags, and DEEP asks anglers to report them.

Salmon water outside the management areas

The declaration also lets anglers take Atlantic salmon, by its legal methods, on the Naugatuck from the confluence of the East and West branches to the Route 118 crossing and from the Thomaston Dam to the Housatonic River.

Common questions

Are there really Atlantic salmon?

Yes. DEEP stocks adult Atlantic salmon each fall into the Naugatuck's two management sections, including some spawned broodstock that average 10 to 15 pounds.

Can I keep trout in the Naugatuck TMA?

No. DEEP lists it as a year-round catch-and-release area, so every trout must be released.

Do I need a stamp?

Yes, a trout and salmon stamp is required, in addition to a license, to fish within any Trout Management Area.

Is fishing good at Naugatuck 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

Bantam Lake8 miLake Waramaug15 miHighland Lake17 miLake Lillinonah19 miLake Zoar19 miFarmington River20 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01206900 β€” Naugatuck River at Thomaston
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 13:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.6800, -73.0700 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.