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American Falls Reservoir Fishing Report

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

American Falls Reservoir: a Reclamation reservoir on the Snake River where Idaho Fish and Game stocks rainbow trout, now recovering from a deep drawdown.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
270 cfs
Air / High
47 / 53 F
Wind
SW 20 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 13077000, 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.

American Falls Reservoir feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The release below the dam is running 270 cfs, falling. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 20 mph, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 53. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:39 PM-12:39 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Similar at 51 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

Idaho requires a fishing licence from age 14, from $35.50 for residents. What a Idaho licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with IDFG before you keep anything. The season dates for Idaho, read off the agency, are on the Idaho seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Snake River at Neeley (below dam).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13077000.

8411,9243,007270 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp47 F
High / Low53 / 42 F
WindSW 20-31 mph
Pressure1013.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 93%
Sunrise / Sunset07:54 / 18:35
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~62 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 American Falls Reservoir this week

Today is the pick of the week on American Falls Reservoir, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:39 PM-12:39 AM
Minor period
4:34 AM-5:34 AM
Sun
07:54 to 18:35
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 22 mph
Rain chance
93%

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

Species guide

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

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

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. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the American Falls Reservoir 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
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Rainbow trout
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 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 American Falls Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 17 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Idaho fishing license. Check the current Idaho Fish and Game seasons and rules for American Falls Reservoir before keeping trout or bass.

Access

Reclamation lists recreation sites run by several managers: the West Boat Ramp, Sportsman's Park (Bingham County), Seagull Bay and Willow Bay (City of American Falls). The Fish and Game planner lists a boat ramp, dock, toilets and campground. At low pool, check ramp conditions with the site manager.

About this water

A Bureau of Reclamation reservoir on the Snake River behind American Falls Dam (1927, rebuilt in the 1970s), about 56,000 acres at full pool, Bannock, Bingham and Power counties, Idaho.

Fishing American Falls Reservoir: the full guide

The reservoir

Reclamation's American Falls Dam, a 94-foot structure on the Snake River, was completed in 1927 and rebuilt in the 1970s. At full pool, Reclamation says, the reservoir covers about 87 square miles (56,000 acres) with nearly 100 miles of shoreline in Bannock, Bingham and Power counties; Idaho Fish and Game lists it at 55,290.9 acres. Reclamation adds that its storage is fully developed and obligated under state and federal law as part of the Upper Snake reservoir system.

Low water and the trout fishery

In November 2025 Fish and Game reported that persistent drought had drawn the reservoir down to 3% of capacity and told anglers to expect fewer and smaller trout in 2026 until conditions improve. Under normal water levels, the agency says, hatchery rainbows grow quickly here and have produced a 34.75-inch (41.13-pound) rainbow-cutthroat hybrid in 2011 and a 31.25-inch rainbow released in 2020. To rebuild the fishery it planned about 250,000 fingerling and 42,000 catchable rainbows, with roughly 9,000 more catchables from Idaho Power. Reclamation's Hydromet data showed 85,089 acre-feet in storage on October 6, 2026.

Species Fish and Game lists

The agency's fishing planner recommends largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch, and brown, cutthroat and rainbow trout. Its stocking records show triploid rainbow trout plants into late November 2025. Many trout pass through the dam when water is released, Fish and Game notes, and some end up in the Snake River below or in Walcott Reservoir.

Common questions

How big do the trout get?

Idaho Fish and Game cites a 34.75-inch, 41.13-pound rainbow-cutthroat hybrid in 2011 and a 31.25-inch rainbow in 2020, under normal water levels.

Is the reservoir low?

Fish and Game reported it was drawn down to 3% of capacity in 2025 and expected fewer, smaller trout in 2026; Reclamation's Hydromet showed 85,089 acre-feet stored on October 6, 2026.

Are there walleye?

Idaho Fish and Game's planner for American Falls does not list walleye among the recommended or surveyed species.

Is fishing good at American Falls Reservoir 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

Blackfoot Reservoir62 miSilver Creek73 miHenrys Fork77 miMagic Reservoir81 miSnake River (South Fork)90 miLogan River95 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13077000 β€” Snake River at Neeley (below dam)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 42.8440, -112.8500 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 7, 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 7, 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.