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Ausable River Fishing Report

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

The Ausable near Au Sable Forks, below the West Branch reaches that DEC manages with catch-and-release water between the Flume and Monument Falls.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
303 cfs
Air / High
51 / 52 F
Wind
NE 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 04275500, 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.

Ausable River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 303 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 7 mph, rising pressure near 1030 hPa and a high of 52. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:28 AM-11:28 AM and 9:58 PM-11:58 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 50Β°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: Warmer at 57 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

New York requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What a New York licence costs and where to buy it β†’

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Ausable River near Au Sable Forks.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 04275500.

3677661,165303 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 94 years of October 23

At 303 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 04275500 (Ausable River near Au Sable Forks) is at the 38th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 94 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 378 cfs; the highest was 3,430 cfs and the lowest 110 cfs.

p10 197median 378p90 1,023

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 04275500; 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 temp51 F
High / Low52 / 30 F
WindNE 7-10 mph
Pressure1029.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:20 / 17:57
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 Ausable River this week

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

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

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:28 AM-11:28 AM and 9:58 PM-11:58 PM
Minor period
3:50 AM-4:50 AM
Sun
07:20 to 17:57
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Ausable 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 50Β°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 Ausable 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 Ausable 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 61 F, wind to 9 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 58 F, wind to 6 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 61 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 York requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

New York fishing license. West Branch catch-and-release, artificial lures only, all year: Route 86 bridge at the Flume up to the Whiteface Ski Center bridge, and the DEC sign 2.2 miles below Monument Falls up to Holcomb Pond Outlet. Other West Branch reaches are Stocked-Extended (3 trout, 1 over 12 in., April 1-October 15; catch-and-release October 16-March 31) (DEC).

Access

Route 86 crosses the West Branch at the Flume, one of the landmarks DEC uses for its regulation reaches.

About this water

The Ausable River near Au Sable Forks, Essex County, New York, below the junction of the East and West branches; the West Branch upstream carries DEC special trout regulations.

Fishing Ausable River: the full guide

Where this page sits

This page's coordinates and gauge are on the main Ausable River near Au Sable Forks, where the USGS station Ausable River near Au Sable Forks reports flow below the junction of the East and West branches. Most of the special trout rules anglers come for are upstream on the West Branch.

West Branch special regulations

DEC splits the West Branch into four reaches. From the East Branch confluence up to the Route 86 bridge at the Flume, and from the Whiteface Ski Center bridge up to a DEC sign 2.2 miles below Monument Falls, it is Stocked-Extended water: from April 1 to October 15 the daily limit is three trout with no more than one longer than 12 inches, and from October 16 to March 31 it is catch-and-release with artificial lures only. From the Flume bridge up to the Whiteface Ski Center bridge, and from the DEC sign below Monument Falls up to the Holcomb Pond Outlet, it is catch-and-release with artificial lures only all year.

Reading the reaches

DEC's boundaries use the Flume bridge, the Whiteface Ski Center bridge and Monument Falls as landmarks, so carry its list when moving between pull-offs: a trout you may keep below the Flume in summer must go back above it.

Common questions

Where is the West Branch catch-and-release only?

All year from the Route 86 bridge at the Flume up to the Whiteface Ski Center bridge, and from the DEC sign 2.2 miles below Monument Falls up to Holcomb Pond Outlet, artificial lures only.

Can I keep trout anywhere on the West Branch?

Yes, in the Stocked-Extended reaches from April 1 to October 15: three trout a day, no more than one over 12 inches.

Which gauge should I watch?

USGS 04275500, Ausable River near Au Sable Forks, below the junction of the branches.

Is fishing good at Ausable 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

Lake Champlain21 miSaranac Lake27 miWinooski River27 miOtter Creek38 miMissisquoi River43 miWaterbury Reservoir45 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 04275500 β€” Ausable River near Au Sable Forks
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 44.4370, -73.6650 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 5, 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 5, 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.