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Loup River Fishing Report

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

A Sandhills river: the Loup runs clear over sand through central Nebraska, holding catfish and bass.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
204 cfs
Air / High
79 / 79 F
Wind
S 21 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06793000, 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.

Loup River rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The river is running 204 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings a mixed sky, wind S around 21 mph, falling pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 79. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:07 AM-12:07 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

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.

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.

White bassGood

The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55°F.

CrappieGood

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Nebraska requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $41.00 for residents. What a Nebraska licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing walleye here? Check the size and bag limits with NGPC before you keep anything. The season dates for Nebraska, read off the agency, are on the Nebraska seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Loup River near Genoa.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06793000.

5251,1381,750204 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 86 years of October 23

At 204 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06793000 (Loup River near Genoa) is at the 77th percentile for the date: above normal. In half of the 86 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 49 cfs; the highest was 8,550 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 8median 49p90 624

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06793000; 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 temp79 F
High / Low79 / 57 F
WindS 21-33 mph
Pressure1011.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain35% cloud, 9%
Sunrise / Sunset07:52 / 18:37
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 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 Loup River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Loup 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
10:07 AM-12:07 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 AM
Minor period
4:30 AM-5:30 AM
Sun
07:52 to 18:37
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 21 mph
Rain chance
9%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Loup River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

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.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55°F.

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.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

When to come: the Loup 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
Walleye
White bass
Northern pike
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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 Loup 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. Walleye led the card at good. High of 76 F, wind to 14 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 73 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 13 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Nebraska license. Catfish and bass limits per current Game and Parks regulations.

Access

Bridge crossings and public wildlife management areas along the main river and its branches.

About this water

A Sandhills-fed river system in central Nebraska joining the Platte near Columbus.

Fishing Loup River: the full guide

A river out of the Sandhills

The Loup River drains the Nebraska Sandhills, forming from the North, Middle and South Loup branches and running east to the Platte near Columbus. Fed by the vast groundwater of the Sandhills, it runs remarkably steady and clear for a plains river, over shifting sand bars and braided channels holding channel catfish, flathead catfish and bass.

Catfish in the channels

Channel catfish are the river’s mainstay, taken on cut bait, worms and prepared baits in the deeper holes and along the outside bends. Flatheads grow large in the deeper water and are taken on live bait at night. The braided sand channel means holes shift with every flood: reading the water fresh each trip is the skill.

Bass and other species

Smallmouth and largemouth are present in the deeper pools and structure, and white bass move up from the Platte system. Northern pike hold parts of the upper branches in the Sandhills, where spring-fed creeks join the river. It is an underfished system where local knowledge matters more than tackle.

Central Nebraska logistics

Access is via bridge crossings, public wildlife areas along the corridor and the branches through the Sandhills. Columbus, Fullerton and Broken Bow serve different reaches. Sand-bar wading is straightforward but currents cut channels: read the river before crossing, and expect it to have changed since last year.

Common questions

Why is it clear?

Sandhills groundwater feeds it steadily, giving it better clarity and steadier flow than most plains rivers.

What is the main catch?

Channel catfish, with flatheads in the deeper holes and bass in the structure and pools.

Does the channel change?

Constantly: it is a braided sand river, and holes shift with every high water. Read it fresh each trip.

Is fishing good at Loup 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

Branched Oak Lake56 miLake Wanahoo60 miSherman Reservoir64 miElkhorn River76 miCalamus Reservoir82 miPlatte River87 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06793000 — Loup River near Genoa
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 41.4500, -97.7300 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.