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Saint Croix River Fishing Report

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

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway: smallmouth water above St. Croix Falls and a mixed fishery below, under Minnesota–Wisconsin boundary rules.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
1,810 cfs
Air / High
60 / 76 F
Wind
SSE 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 05340500, 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.

Saint Croix River rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The river is running 1,810 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 10 mph, falling pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 76. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:46 AM-11:46 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 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.

Northern pikeExcellent

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Tomorrow: Similar at 73 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Minnesota requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What a Minnesota 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 Minnesota, read off the agency, are on the Minnesota seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 05340500.

1,5131,6301,7471,810 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 119 years of October 23

At 1,810 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 05340500 (St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls) is at the 12th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 119 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 3,020 cfs; the highest was 24,100 cfs and the lowest 635 cfs.

p10 1,760median 3,020p90 8,140

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 05340500; 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 temp60 F
High / Low76 / 56 F
WindSSE 10-15 mph
Pressure1021.0 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 17%
Sunrise / Sunset07:37 / 18:11
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)54 F USGS
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 Saint Croix River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Saint Croix 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
9:46 AM-11:46 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM
Minor period
4:09 AM-5:09 AM
Sun
07:37 to 18:11
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 17 mph
Rain chance
17%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Saint Croix 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.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

When to come: the Saint Croix 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)
Northern pike
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 Saint Croix 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. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 76 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 74 F, wind to 7 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 69 F, wind to 12 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

WI–MN boundary waters 2026–27: bass above St. Croix Falls Dam C&R Sept 14–Mar 1, below it 5 at 14 in.; walleye 15 in. (6 above the dam; 4 below, only 1 over 20 in.); muskie 1 at 50 in., May 23–Nov 30; sturgeon harvest only below the dam Sept 5–30, 1 at 60 in.

Access

NPS landings along the Riverway; you are inspected by the state where you land.

About this water

The St. Croix River on the Minnesota–Wisconsin border, part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway; the point and gauge on this page are at St. Croix Falls.

Fishing Saint Croix River: the full guide

A boundary riverway

The National Park Service manages the St. Croix and Namekagon as the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. It describes the stretch from Danbury, Wisconsin, to the Indian Head Flowage north of St. Croix Falls as recognized as one of the finest smallmouth bass fisheries in the country, and below Taylors Falls lists bass, walleye, sauger, northern pike, muskellunge, catfish, sturgeon and panfish.

Licenses on border water

The state line begins about 2.5 miles below Riverside Landing. On the boundary water Minnesota residents need a Minnesota license, Wisconsin residents a Wisconsin license, and others a license from either state, carried as a copy showing the fishing privilege; anglers follow the rules of the state they are fishing in. NPS adds that you will be checked by the state where you land, and live crayfish may not be used as bait on the Riverway.

Rules above and below the dam

Wisconsin's 2026–2027 boundary-water table splits the river at the St. Croix Falls Dam. Above it, bass are catch-and-release from September 14, 2026 to March 1, 2027; below it, bass are 5 at 14 inches through March 1, 2027. Lake sturgeon open as catch-and-release on June 16; the only harvest is below the dam from September 5 to 30, one fish of at least 60 inches, under WDNR's tagging and registration rules. Muskellunge need 50 inches, May 23 to November 30, 2026.

Common questions

Are there sturgeon?

NPS lists sturgeon below Taylors Falls. Lake sturgeon are catch-and-release except below the St. Croix Falls Dam from September 5 to 30, when one fish of 60 inches or more may be kept.

Which license do I need?

Minnesota residents need a Minnesota license and Wisconsin residents a Wisconsin license; residents of other states may use a nonresident license from either state.

Can I use crayfish for bait?

Not live crayfish: NPS and WDNR prohibit them as bait within the Riverway's federal zone.

Is fishing good at Saint Croix 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

Leech Lake26 miKinnickinnic River38 miGrindstone Lake52 miLake Minnetonka57 miLake Waconia67 miChippewa River69 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 05340500 — St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 13:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.4000, -92.6500 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 6, 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 6, 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.