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Sugar Creek Fishing Report

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

Indiana’s canoe creek: Sugar Creek runs smallmouth past the cliffs of Turkey Run and Shades.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
41 cfs
Air / High
72 / 72 F
Wind
SE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03339500, 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.

Sugar Creek feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The river is running 41 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 72. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:23 AM-12:23 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

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.

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Indiana requires a fishing licence, from $23.00 for residents. What a Indiana licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Sugar Creek at Crawfordsville.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03339500.

589312741 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 88 years of October 23

At 41 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 03339500 (Sugar Creek at Crawfordsville) is at the 44th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 88 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 46 cfs; the highest was 902 cfs and the lowest 12 cfs.

p10 21median 46p90 509

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 03339500; 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 temp72 F
High / Low72 / 40 F
WindSE 4-5 mph
Pressure1024.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset08:06 / 18:56
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 Sugar Creek this week

The best day on Sugar Creek this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:23 AM-12:23 PM and 10:52 PM-12:52 AM
Minor period
4:45 AM-5:45 AM
Sun
08:06 to 18:56
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Sugar Creek: 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.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

When to come: the Sugar Creek 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
Walleye
Muskellunge
Catfish (blue, channel)
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 Sugar Creek 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. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 5 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Indiana license. Smallmouth bass size and bag limits per current DNR regulations; state park entry fees apply.

Access

Shades and Turkey Run state parks, public bridge crossings, and canoe liveries near Crawfordsville.

About this water

A 90-mile creek to the Wabash River through Montgomery and Parke counties, Indiana.

Fishing Sugar Creek: the full guide

A creek through sandstone

Sugar Creek flows about 90 miles across west-central Indiana to the Wabash River, cutting sandstone gorges through Shades and Turkey Run state parks along the way. It is the state’s best-known canoe stream and a genuinely good smallmouth bass creek, with rock bass, longear sunfish and channel catfish filling out the catch.

Smallmouth in the gorges

Smallmouth hold the rock ledges, the bluff pools and the wood in the runs, taken on tubes, small crankbaits, hair jigs and topwater through the warm months. The gorge sections through the state parks hold the most striking water. Fish average creek-sized with genuine larger fish in the deeper pools.

Floating the creek

Canoe and kayak floats are the standard approach, with liveries in the Crawfordsville area serving the popular reaches through Shades and Turkey Run. Spring flows carry boats easily; late summer often drops the creek to a wade-and-drag proposition. Recreational paddling traffic is heavy on summer weekends: fish weekdays.

Montgomery and Parke county logistics

Access is via Shades State Park, Turkey Run State Park and public bridge crossings, with liveries providing shuttles. Crawfordsville is the base town, an hour from Indianapolis. Flows drop through summer: check the Crawfordsville gauge before planning a float.

Common questions

Is it good smallmouth water?

Yes: rock ledges, bluff pools and wood hold smallmouth through the warm months, with rock bass alongside.

Can I float it?

Yes: it is Indiana’s best-known canoe stream, with liveries near Crawfordsville. Late summer often gets too low.

Is it crowded?

Recreational paddling is heavy on summer weekends through the state parks. Fish weekdays or early.

Is fishing good at Sugar Creek 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

Wabash River27 miCagles Mill Lake38 miWhite River42 miLake Freeman49 miGeist Reservoir52 miMississinewa Lake69 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03339500 — Sugar Creek at Crawfordsville
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.0300, -86.9000 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.