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Illinois River Fishing Report

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

Oklahoma's Scenic River above Tenkiller, with smallmouth on gravel and a 7.75-mile trout tailwater below the dam.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
261 cfs
Air / High
81 / 81 F
Wind
SSE 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07196500, 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Illinois River feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The river is running 261 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 81. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:56 AM-11:56 AM and 10:24 PM-12:24 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Brown troutExcellent

Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

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.

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.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Tomorrow: Similar at 83 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Oklahoma requires a fishing licence from age 18, from $31.00 for residents. What a Oklahoma licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Illinois River near Tahlequah.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07196500.

272384495261 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 91 years of October 23

At 261 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 07196500 (Illinois River near Tahlequah) is at the 51st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 91 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 254 cfs; the highest was 3,800 cfs and the lowest 9 cfs.

p10 95median 254p90 987

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 07196500; 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 temp81 F
High / Low81 / 50 F
WindSSE 9-11 mph
Pressure1019.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:33 / 18:33
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 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Illinois River this week

The best day on Illinois River this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:56 AM-11:56 AM and 10:24 PM-12:24 AM
Minor period
4:18 AM-5:18 AM
Sun
07:33 to 18:33
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Illinois 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.

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.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

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. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

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. Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

When to come: the Illinois 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
Catfish (blue, channel)
Largemouth bass
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
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 Illinois 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 5 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 82 F, wind to 4 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 78 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

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

Regulations

Oklahoma fishing license. ODWC rules checked October 5, 2026: above Horseshoe Bend, six black bass combined per day, only one a smallmouth, with largemouth and smallmouth at least 14 inches. In the trout area, three trout per day with only one brown trout over 20 inches, a stricter one-trout, 20-inch-minimum reach below the USGS gauge, and one rod per angler from the dam to U.S. 64.

Access

Gore Landing Public Access Area (town of Gore), River Road Public Access Area and the Watts Management Unit on the trout water; public access points and float operators along the upper river near Tahlequah.

About this water

A Scenic River from the Arkansas line to Tenkiller Ferry Lake in Adair and Cherokee counties, with the Lower Illinois trout area below the dam in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.

Fishing Illinois River: the full guide

Two rivers in one

The Illinois River enters Oklahoma from Arkansas and ends in Tenkiller Ferry Lake, and the upper river is a designated Oklahoma Scenic River. ODWC manages the water above Horseshoe Bend for smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass and channel catfish, and the 7.75 miles below Tenkiller Ferry Dam as a trout area.

Smallmouth above the lake

ODWC describes the upper river near Tahlequah as cobble bottom, gravel bars, submerged timber, log jams, riffles, runs and pools. The river and its tributaries Flint Creek and Barren Fork share one bass rule set, and floating or wading are the usual ways to fish it.

The Lower Illinois trout area

The trout water runs from Tenkiller Ferry Dam to the U.S. 64 bridge near Gore in Sequoyah County. ODWC normally stocks rainbow trout there, but in 2026 it temporarily suspended Lower Illinois stocking after flooding cost federal hatcheries about two years of trout, and its October 4 report called fishing slow. The Simp and Helen Watts Management Unit offers walk-in access, with flies and lures only and barbless hooks on its trout reach.

Common questions

Are trout being stocked below Tenkiller?

Not at present: ODWC temporarily suspended Lower Illinois stocking in 2026 while hatcheries rebuild their trout supply, a recovery it estimates at 19 to 22 months.

How many smallmouth can I keep?

One per day above Horseshoe Bend, at 14 inches or longer, inside a six-bass combined limit.

What does Scenic River mean?

It is a state designation under Oklahoma's Scenic Rivers Act; in this watershed the Illinois, Flint Creek and Barren Fork carry it.

Is fishing good at Illinois River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Fort Gibson Lake22 miTenkiller Ferry Lake25 miLake Hudson30 miRobert S Kerr Reservoir39 miGrand Lake o the Cherokees44 miBeaver Lake55 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07196500 — Illinois River near Tahlequah
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 35.9200, -94.8500 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.