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Saco River Fishing Report

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

The White Mountains’ river: the Saco runs trout and smallmouth from Crawford Notch to the Maine coast.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
247 cfs
Air / High
55 / 58 F
Wind
ENE 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01064500, 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.

Saco River is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 247 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:17 AM-11:17 AM and 9:47 PM-11:47 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 58 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 rainbow trout 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 Saco River near Conway.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01064500.

313650988247 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 104 years of October 23

At 247 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01064500 (Saco River near Conway) is at the 25th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 104 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 420 cfs; the highest was 4,900 cfs and the lowest 102 cfs.

p10 167median 420p90 1,645

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01064500; 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 / Low58 / 34 F
WindENE 5-9 mph
Pressure1027.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:09 / 17:47
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 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 Saco River this week

The best day on Saco 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
9:17 AM-11:17 AM and 9:47 PM-11:47 PM
Minor period
3:39 AM-4:39 AM
Sun
07:09 to 17:47
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 Saco 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. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

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. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Saco 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 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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 Saco 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 12 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 60 F, wind to 7 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 67 F, wind to 8 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 license (Maine license downstream). Trout and bass limits per current NH Fish and Game regulations.

Access

Route 302 pullouts through Crawford Notch and Conway; state land and commercial campgrounds along the river.

About this water

A 136-mile river from the White Mountains to the Atlantic at Saco, Maine, through Carroll County, New Hampshire.

Fishing Saco River: the full guide

A mountain river

The Saco River rises in Crawford Notch in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and flows about 136 miles to the Atlantic at Saco, Maine. Its upper reaches through the notch and Conway run as cold trout water over sand and rock; the middle river warms and holds smallmouth bass; and the lower Maine reaches add pike and, in season, striped bass in the tidal water.

Trout in the notch

The upper Saco through Crawford Notch and around North Conway holds brook, brown and rainbow trout, stocked and wild, in classic mountain water. Nymphs, dries and small streamers produce, with spring and fall best. Sandy stretches and the river’s tendency to shift channels after floods make it a river that changes between visits.

Smallmouth and the float

From Conway downstream the river warms into smallmouth water, popular with canoe and tube floaters in summer: fish early or on weekdays to avoid the recreational traffic that the sandy beaches attract. Smallmouth hold the deeper pools, rock and wood, taking tubes, small crankbaits and topwater on light tackle.

Carroll County logistics

Access is straightforward via Route 302 through the notch and Conway, with numerous pullouts, state land and commercial campgrounds along the river. North Conway provides every service. Flows rise fast with mountain rain and snowmelt, and the river can change character after major floods, which have reshaped it repeatedly.

Common questions

Where are the trout?

The upper river through Crawford Notch and around North Conway: cold mountain water with stocked and wild fish.

Is it crowded?

In summer with tubers and canoes on the sandy middle reaches: fish early, weekdays or the upper trout water.

Does the river change?

Yes: major floods have repeatedly reshaped its sandy channels, so structure differs between visits.

Is fishing good at Saco 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

Ossipee Lake16 miSquam Lake27 miSebago Lake29 miLake Winnipesaukee30 miPemigewasset River33 miMerrymeeting Lake35 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01064500 — Saco River near Conway
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 44.0000, -71.1200 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.