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Niangua River Fishing Report

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

The Niangua River in Missouri: an 11.5-mile White Ribbon Trout Area below Bennett Spring Branch, next to the Bennett Spring trout park.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
24 cfs
Air / High
81 / 81 F
Wind
SSE 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06923250, 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.

Niangua River rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The river is running 24 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 6 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 81. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Brown troutExcellent

Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

Tomorrow: Similar at 84 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Missouri requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $14.00 for residents. What a Missouri licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with MDC before you keep anything. The season dates for Missouri, read off the agency, are on the Missouri seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Niangua River at Windyville.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06923250.

23313924 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 25 years of October 23

At 24 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06923250 (Niangua River at Windyville) is at the 11th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 25 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 50 cfs; the highest was 432 cfs and the lowest 20 cfs.

p10 23median 50p90 268

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06923250; 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 temp81 F
High / Low81 / 51 F
WindSSE 6-7 mph
Pressure1019.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:28 / 18:23
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 Niangua River this week

The best day on Niangua River 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
9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM
Minor period
4:10 AM-5:10 AM
Sun
07:28 to 18:23
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Niangua 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. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

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. Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

When to come: the Niangua 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 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 Niangua 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 81 F, wind to 6 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 78 F, wind to 5 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 74 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

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

Regulations

Missouri fishing permit; daily trout tag at Bennett Spring State Park. Trout park: March 1-October 31, 4 trout (only 1 brown 15 in. or longer), zone lure rules; winter catch-and-release Fri-Mon from the second Friday in November to the second Monday in February. Niangua White Ribbon Trout Area (Bennett Spring Branch to Prosperine Access): 4 trout, browns 15 in. minimum. No porous-soled waders on the Niangua.

Access

Bennett Spring State Park (trout tags at the park store); Prosperine Access marks the lower end of the White Ribbon area.

About this water

A Missouri river whose 11.5-mile White Ribbon Trout Area starts at the Bennett Spring Branch; the flow gauge is at Windyville.

Fishing Niangua River: the full guide

Bennett Spring's trout park

Missouri State Parks stocks the Bennett Spring branch daily during the regular season, March 1 through October 31. Anglers need a daily trout tag from the park store and a Missouri fishing permit, unless they are 15 or younger or Missouri residents 65 or older. The limit is four trout, only one of which may be a brown trout of 15 inches or more; rainbows have no length limit.

Three zones on the spring branch

Zone 1, from the spring to the dam, is flies only, with or without spinners. Zone 2, from the hatchery dam to the whistle bridge, allows flies and artificial lures, and Zone 3, from the whistle bridge to the Niangua, allows only unscented soft plastics and natural or scented bait. A winter catch-and-release season runs Fridays through Mondays from the second Friday in November to the second Monday in February.

White Ribbon water on the Niangua

From Bennett Spring Branch down to Prosperine Access, MDC manages 11.5 miles of stocked river as a White Ribbon Trout Area: four trout a day, brown trout at least 15 inches, all lures allowed. White Ribbon streams get periodic rainbow trout stockings and some also get brown trout. Porous-soled waders are banned on the whole Niangua, and trout kept on waters with length limits must stay whole.

The gauge on this page

River flow here comes from the USGS gauge Niangua River at Windyville.

Common questions

Do I need a trout tag on the Niangua?

A daily trout tag is required at Bennett Spring State Park. On the White Ribbon reach of the Niangua, MDC's limit is four trout with browns at least 15 inches.

Can I wear felt-soled waders?

No. MDC prohibits porous-soled waders on the Niangua River.

Is there winter fishing at Bennett Spring?

Yes, catch-and-release on Fridays through Mondays from the second Friday in November to the second Monday in February.

Is fishing good at Niangua 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

Bennett Spring10 miLake of the Ozarks21 miPomme de Terre Lake22 miTruman Lake44 miStockton Lake44 miGasconade River66 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06923250 — Niangua River at Windyville
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.8604, -92.9129 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 7, 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 7, 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.