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Saint Joe River Fishing Report

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

St. Joe River: a westslope cutthroat river in the Idaho Panhandle where no cutthroat may be kept.

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

Sources: USGS gauge 12414500, 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.

Saint Joe River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 353 cfs. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 55. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:53 PM-11:53 PM: 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 50Β°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.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 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 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 St. Joe River at Calder.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12414500.

349370390353 cfs09/2309/3010/0710/23

Today’s flow against 107 years of October 23

At 353 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 12414500 (St. Joe River at Calder) is at the 26th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 107 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 433 cfs; the highest was 2,510 cfs and the lowest 251 cfs.

p10 316median 433p90 1,112

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 12414500; 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 temp55 F
High / Low55 / 39 F
WindW 10-16 mph
Pressure1017.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 60%
Sunrise / Sunset07:15 / 17:42
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 Saint Joe River this week

The best day on Saint Joe River this week looks like Wednesday Oct 28, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Wednesday, Oct 28 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
9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:53 PM-11:53 PM
Minor period
3:48 AM-4:48 AM
Sun
07:15 to 17:42
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 11 mph
Rain chance
60%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Saint Joe River: 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 50Β°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.

When to come: the Saint Joe 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
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
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 Saint Joe River 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 75 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 6 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 71 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. Per Idaho's published fishing rules (eRegulations edition, checked 5 Oct 2026): trout limit 6 with no harvest of cutthroat (red or orange slash below the jaw) from Coeur d'Alene Lake upstream; above the North Fork St. Joe, no bait and barbless hooks only.

Access

Forest Service campgrounds near Avery, including Tin Can Flat and Conrad Crossing; check Idaho Panhandle National Forests alerts before going.

About this water

A westslope cutthroat river flowing to Coeur d'Alene Lake in the Idaho Panhandle; gauge USGS 12414500 at Calder.

Fishing Saint Joe River: the full guide

Cutthroat water

The St. Joe runs through the Idaho Panhandle to Coeur d'Alene Lake. Idaho's rules protect its westslope cutthroat: from the lake upstream, no trout with a red or orange slash below the jaw may be kept, so cutthroat fishing is catch-and-release on the whole river.

Rules change at the North Fork

From Coeur d'Alene Lake up to and including the North Fork St. Joe, the trout limit is six, with no cutthroat harvest, and bait is allowed. Above the North Fork the same limit applies, but bait is banned and hooks must be barbless.

Camping and floating

Forest Service campgrounds near Avery include Tin Can Flat (11 sites, water June to October) on the St. Joe Wild and Scenic River and Conrad Crossing (8 sites, raft access and a day-use area). The Forest Service lists floating at Tin Can Flat only until mid-July. Neither campground takes reservations; check the Idaho Panhandle National Forests for closures.

Flows

USGS gauge 12414500, St. Joe River at Calder, supplies the flow on this page; use it alongside the Forest Service's mid-July floating cutoff.

Common questions

Can I keep a cutthroat?

No: Idaho's rules allow no harvest of trout with a red or orange slash below the jaw anywhere on the St. Joe from Coeur d'Alene Lake upstream.

Is bait allowed?

Up to and including the North Fork, yes; above the North Fork, no, and hooks must be barbless.

When can I float it?

The Forest Service lists floating at Tin Can Flat until mid-July.

Is fishing good at Saint Joe 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

Coeur d Alene Lake35 miNorth Fork Clearwater River40 miDworshak Reservoir46 miNoxon Rapids Reservoir48 miLake Pend Oreille62 miClearwater River71 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 12414500 β€” St. Joe River at Calder
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 20:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 47.2750, -116.1900 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.