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Connecticut River Fishing Report

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

The Connecticut River on the New Hampshire–Vermont line: one set of bi-state rules, open all year, with fly-fishing water at Pittsburg.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
5,360 cfs
Air / High
55 / 56 F
Wind
N 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01144500, 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Connecticut River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 5,360 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 56. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:52 PM-11:52 PM: 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 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

New Hampshire requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $45.00 for residents. What a New Hampshire licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Connecticut River at West Lebanon.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01144500.

1,7503,1724,5945,360 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 112 years of October 23

At 5,360 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01144500 (Connecticut River at West Lebanon) is at the 64th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 112 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 4,040 cfs; the highest was 19,800 cfs and the lowest 850 cfs.

p10 1,778median 4,040p90 13,410

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01144500; 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 temp55 F
High / Low56 / 32 F
WindN 8-13 mph
Pressure1027.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:13 / 17:52
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 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Connecticut River this week

The best day on Connecticut River this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:52 PM-11:52 PM
Minor period
3:44 AM-4:44 AM
Sun
07:13 to 17:52
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Connecticut 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 Connecticut 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 Connecticut 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 63 F, wind to 12 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 60 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 65 F, wind to 11 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

New Hampshire and Vermont resident licenses are valid on the whole border river. Other nonresidents holding a New Hampshire nonresident license may fish only east of the Vermont low-water mark. Open water: no more than 2 lines; ice: no more than 6 devices. Limits are in the New Hampshire Interstate Waters rules (updated Jan. 12, 2026) and the 2026–2027 river rules.

Access

Fishing is closed for 150 feet below Wilder Dam (Wilder, VT–Lebanon, NH) and Vernon Dam. For launch sites, see New Hampshire Fish and Game and Vermont Fish and Wildlife access listings.

About this water

The Connecticut River where it forms the New Hampshire–Vermont border, here at West Lebanon, Grafton County, New Hampshire.

Fishing Connecticut River: the full guide

The border river

The Connecticut flows 410 miles from the Canadian border to the Connecticut coast and forms the New Hampshire–Vermont state line, according to the federal American Heritage Rivers page for the river. This page sits at West Lebanon, where the USGS gauge Connecticut River at West Lebanon (01144500) reports live flow, a short way below Wilder Dam.

One rule book for both states

New Hampshire and Vermont share the Connecticut River regulations for the border reach, including its bays, setbacks and tributaries up to the first highway bridge. The river is open to fishing all year, except from the Upper Ammonoosuc confluence in Northumberland to the northern boundary of Canaan, Vermont, which is closed Oct. 16–Dec. 31. Atlantic salmon have no open season. Fishing is closed within 150 feet below Wilder Dam and Vernon Dam.

Species limits on the border reach

The 2026–2027 rules set trout at 5 fish or 5 pounds a day in open water from Jan. 1 to Oct. 15 (2 through the ice), northern pike at 1 fish of 28 inches or more, chain pickerel at 10, and walleye at 4 a day with none from 16 to 18 inches and only one over 18. From 2026 the river's own bass seasons were dropped and New Hampshire's general river rules apply to black bass: 2 a day Jan. 1–May 14, catch and release with artificial lures and flies May 15–June 15, then 5 a day to Oct. 15.

The upper river at Pittsburg

Near its source the river carries New Hampshire special rules: from the dam at Second Connecticut Lake to the logging bridge on Magalloway Road it is fly fishing only and catch and release for all species; from that bridge to First Connecticut Lake, and from First Connecticut Lake dam to Lake Francis, it is fly fishing only with a 2-trout limit (12-inch minimum below First Lake).

Common questions

Which license do I need?

A New Hampshire or Vermont resident license covers the border river. A nonresident with a New Hampshire nonresident license must stay east of the Vermont low-water mark.

Can I keep walleye?

Yes, up to 4 a day, but none from 16 to 18 inches and only one longer than 18 inches.

Where is the fly-fishing-only water?

At Pittsburg: from the Second Connecticut Lake dam down to Lake Francis, in three sections with different limits.

Is fishing good at Connecticut River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

White River7 miLake Sunapee23 miNewfound Lake27 miPemigewasset River33 miSquam Lake40 miLake Winnisquam42 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01144500 — Connecticut River at West Lebanon
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.6500, -72.3200 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.