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Licking River Fishing Report

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

Northern Kentucky’s muskie river: the Licking runs toothy fish and smallmouth to the Ohio.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
237 cfs
Air / High
53 / 70 F
Wind
NE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03253500, 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Licking River rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The river is running 237 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 4 mph, falling pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 70. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:41 PM-12:41 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassExcellent

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.

WalleyeExcellent

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.

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.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

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

Before you go

Kentucky requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $23.00 for residents. What a Kentucky licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Licking River at Catawba.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03253500.

209372534237 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 88 years of October 23

At 237 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 03253500 (Licking River at Catawba) is at the 45th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 88 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 274 cfs; the highest was 8,540 cfs and the lowest 4 cfs.

p10 34median 274p90 4,735

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 03253500; 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 temp53 F
High / Low70 / 43 F
WindNE 4-8 mph
Pressure1026.9 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:54 / 18:48
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 Licking River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Licking River, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:41 PM-12:41 AM
Minor period
4:34 AM-5:34 AM
Sun
07:54 to 18:48
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Licking River: 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 Licking 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
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 Licking 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. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 73 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

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

Regulations

Kentucky license. Muskellunge 36-inch minimum and smallmouth limits per current KDFWR regulations.

Access

Road crossings and public access points on the middle and lower river; Cave Run Lake upstream.

About this water

A 300-mile river through eastern and northern Kentucky to the Ohio at Covington.

Fishing Licking River: the full guide

A river with a muskie reputation

The Licking River flows about 300 miles through eastern and northern Kentucky to the Ohio River at Covington, and it is best known among Kentucky anglers for muskellunge: the state manages it as one of its premier musky rivers, with fish holding in the deeper pools and log jams through its middle and lower reaches.

Muskie water

The musky fishery centers on the deeper pools, wood and current breaks: large rubber baits, bucktails and glide baits worked patiently, with fall and early spring the best windows. Kentucky stocks the river and manages it for size. This is specialist fishing, with long hours between bites and genuine trophies as the reward.

Smallmouth and catfish

Smallmouth bass hold the gravel riffles, ledges and rock throughout the river, taking tubes, small crankbaits and topwater on light tackle: an excellent and lightly fished summer fishery. Channel and flathead catfish work the deeper holes, and the lower river near the Ohio holds larger fish generally.

Northern Kentucky logistics

Access is via road crossings, public areas and the Cave Run Lake area upstream, which impounds the river and holds its own famous musky fishery. Falmouth, Butler and Claysville provide access on the lower river. Flows respond to rain: the river rises and colors quickly, and fishes best on the falling water.

Common questions

Is the musky fishery real?

Yes: Kentucky manages the Licking as a premier musky river, with fish in the deeper pools and log jams.

When should I target muskie?

Fall and early spring, working large baits patiently through the deeper pools and current breaks.

Is there smallmouth fishing?

Yes and it is lightly fished: gravel riffles and ledges hold good numbers through the summer.

Is fishing good at Licking River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Elkhorn Creek38 miCaesar Creek Lake58 miCave Run Lake61 miTaylorsville Lake66 miBrookville Lake67 miHerrington Lake69 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03253500 — Licking River at Catawba
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 14:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.6800, -84.3500 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.
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.