Share your catch
US

Grand River Fishing Report, Ohio

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

A 102-mile State Scenic and Wild River that Ohio stocks with about 80,000 steelhead a year, under Lake Erie rules up to the State Route 535 bridge.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
44 cfs
Air / High
62 / 65 F
Wind
NE 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 04212100, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
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.

Grand River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 44 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 65. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:59 AM-11:59 AM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM: 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.

SteelheadGood

Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 66 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Ohio requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What a Ohio licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Grand River near Painesville.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 04212100.

32527244 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 52 years of October 23

At 44 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 04212100 (Grand River near Painesville) is at the 8th percentile for the date: much below normal. In half of the 52 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 205 cfs; the highest was 2,640 cfs and the lowest 24 cfs.

p10 55median 205p90 1,997

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 04212100; 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 temp62 F
High / Low65 / 41 F
WindNE 10-13 mph
Pressure1026.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain9% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:46 / 18:31
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)55 F USGS
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 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Grand River this week

The best day on Grand River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 — 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
9:59 AM-11:59 AM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM
Minor period
4:21 AM-5:21 AM
Sun
07:46 to 18:31
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 11 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Great Lakes tributaries from fall through spring; West Coast rivers have both summer and winter runs

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the Pacific or the Great Lakes to grow, then return up rivers to spawn; unlike most Pacific salmon they can survive spawning and spawn again. Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

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.

When to come: the Grand 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
Steelhead
Muskellunge
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 Grand 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 7 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 62 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 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Ohio fishing license. Lake Erie rules apply up to the SR 535 bridge. Trout and salmon on Lake Erie tributaries, 2026-27: two a day March 1-May 15, five May 16-August 31, two September 1-February 28, 12-inch minimum; no brook trout may be kept from the Grand or its tributaries (Ohio Fishing Regulations 2026-27).

Access

ODNR lists 22 public access sites, including Grand River Landing, Kiwanis Recreation Park, Beaty Landing and Helen Hazen Wyman Park in Lake County.

About this water

A 102-mile State Scenic and Wild River in Geauga, Trumbull, Ashtabula and Lake counties, Ohio, entering Lake Erie at Fairport Harbor.

Fishing Grand River: the full guide

The river

ODNR's coastal access guide gives the Grand River 102 miles: it rises in Parkman Township in Geauga County, runs east and north, turns west in Ashtabula County to parallel the Lake Erie shore for about 25 miles, then turns north at Painesville to reach the lake at Fairport Harbor. It drains 712 square miles and is one of only three Ohio rivers designated both a State Scenic and Wild River. ODNR notes it for steelhead and muskellunge fishing.

Steelhead stocking

Ohio's Lake Erie steelhead summary shows the Grand River stocked every spring: about 102,000 fish in 2021, 90,000 in 2022, 97,000 in 2023, 80,000 in 2024 and 80,020 from April 28 to May 1, 2025. The 2026 target for the river is 80,000 fish.

Which rules apply

Ohio's Lake Erie regulations apply on the Grand from the lake upstream to the State Route 535 bridge. Trout and salmon rules cover the entire length of Lake Erie tributaries: for 2026-27, two a day from March 1 to May 15, five from May 16 to August 31 and two from September 1 to February 28, 2027, all with a 12-inch minimum. Brook trout may not be taken or possessed from the Grand or its tributaries.

Public access near Painesville

ODNR counts 22 access sites on the Grand. Near the mouth are Grand River Landing, a Lake Metroparks site on North St. Clair Street east of State Route 535, and the docks in the village of Grand River. Upstream, Kiwanis Recreation Park in Painesville, Beaty Landing on East Walnut Street (State Route 84), with a one-mile River Loop Trail and three trails down to the river, and Helen Hazen Wyman Park on State Route 86 all reach the water. USGS 04212100, Grand River near Painesville, is the flow gauge for this page.

Common questions

How many steelhead are stocked in the Grand?

About 80,000 fish in each of 2024 and 2025, with a 2026 target of 80,000 (ODNR).

What is the steelhead limit?

Under the 2026-27 rules, two a day from March 1 to May 15 and from September 1 to February 28, and five from May 16 to August 31, with a 12-inch minimum.

Is the Grand a protected river?

Yes. ODNR says it is one of only three Ohio rivers designated both a State Scenic and a Wild River.

Is fishing good at Grand 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

Chagrin River11 miLake Erie30 miRocky River35 miMosquito Lake38 miPymatuning Reservoir39 miConneaut Creek39 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 04212100 — Grand River near Painesville
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 41.7200, -81.2300 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.