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Magic Reservoir Fishing Report

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

A 3,580-acre irrigation reservoir on the Big Wood River with a gently sloping shoreline, stocked heavily by IDFG with rainbow trout.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
3 cfs
Air / High
46 / 49 F
Wind
W 13 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 13142500, 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.

Magic Reservoir asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The release below the dam is running 3 cfs, on the rise. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 13 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 49. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:15 AM-12:15 PM and 10:45 PM-12:45 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Smallmouth bassGood

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Yellow perchGood

Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

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 →

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 →

Chasing rainbow trout 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 Big Wood River below Magic Dam near Richfield, ID (outflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13142500.

2233 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 114 years of October 23

At 3 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 13142500 (Big Wood River below Magic Dam near Richfield, ID (outflow)) is at the 16th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 114 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 8 cfs; the highest was 682 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 2median 8p90 48

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 13142500; 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 temp46 F
High / Low49 / 41 F
WindW 13-18 mph
Pressure1012.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 72%
Sunrise / Sunset08:01 / 18:41
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 Magic Reservoir this week

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

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:15 AM-12:15 PM and 10:45 PM-12:45 AM
Minor period
4:40 AM-5:40 AM
Sun
08:01 to 18:41
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 15 mph
Rain chance
72%

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

Species guide

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

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. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

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. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

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. Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

When to come: the Magic 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
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Smallmouth bass
Yellow perch
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 Magic 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 66 F, wind to 21 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 68 F, wind to 12 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 11 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. See the current IDFG fishing seasons and rules for trout, bass and perch limits at Magic Reservoir.

Access

East boat ramp off East Magic Reservoir Road; west-shore access via US 20 near milepost 162; Moonstone Landing, Hot Springs Landing and Sheep Bridge (IDFG).

About this water

A 3,580-acre irrigation reservoir on the Big Wood River in Blaine and Camas counties, Idaho.

Fishing Magic Reservoir: the full guide

An irrigation reservoir

Idaho Fish and Game's Fishing Planner lists Magic Reservoir in Blaine and Camas counties at 3,580 acres. The agency calls it a popular, diverse fishery whose low-gradient shoreline suits young anglers, and warns that water levels follow irrigation demand, so some access points can be left high and dry at peak draw.

Stocking

IDFG's stocking records show heavy rainbow trout plants, most of them sterile triploids. In 2026 the agency released more than 300,000 triploid fry in February and catchable rainbows of 12 to 14 inches in March and April. In 2025 it stocked more than 380,000 triploid fingerlings, along with 1,300 yellow perch fingerlings.

Species

IDFG lists brown trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass and yellow perch here. Its surveys recorded brown trout, rainbow trout and smallmouth bass in 2023; the most recent survey record for perch dates from 2008, although the agency stocked perch in 2024 and 2025.

Getting there

From the US 20 junction, IDFG directs anglers 3.5 miles south on State Highway 75, then 4.6 miles west on East Magic Reservoir Road to the east boat ramp. For the west shore, take US 20 west from the Highway 75 junction, turn south near milepost 162 and drive 13 miles. Moonstone Landing, Hot Springs Landing and Sheep Bridge provide more access, and the planner lists a boat ramp, dock, toilets, campground and ADA access with no motor restriction.

The Big Wood River gauge

The USGS gauge on this page, Big Wood River at Stanton Crossing near Bellevue, measures the main inflow above the reservoir, not the lake level.

Common questions

Does IDFG stock Magic Reservoir?

Yes, mainly with triploid rainbow trout as fry, fingerlings and 12- to 14-inch catchables; yellow perch fingerlings were added in 2024 and 2025.

Why does the shoreline move?

Water is drawn for irrigation, and IDFG notes that some access points end up high and dry during peak demand.

What lives here besides trout?

IDFG lists smallmouth bass and yellow perch along with rainbow and brown trout.

Is fishing good at Magic 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

Silver Creek10 miAnderson Ranch Reservoir55 miSouth Fork Boise River57 miAmerican Falls Reservoir81 miLucky Peak Reservoir86 miBoise River100 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13142500 — Big Wood River below Magic Dam near Richfield, ID (outflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.2700, -114.3500 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 5, 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 5, 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.