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Allegheny River Fishing Report

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

The Allegheny River in Pennsylvania: PFBC trout water below Kinzua Dam and a river where PFBC says muskellunge, smallmouth bass and walleye dominate.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
8,400 cfs
Air / High
61 / 61 F
Wind
NE 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03049500, 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.

Allegheny River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 8,400 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 61. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:53 AM-11:53 AM and 10:22 PM-12:22 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.

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.

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.

Tomorrow: Similar at 61 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Pennsylvania requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $27.97 for residents. What a Pennsylvania licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Allegheny River at Natrona.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03049500.

9,89314,82019,7478,400 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 88 years of October 23

At 8,400 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 03049500 (Allegheny River at Natrona) is at the 58th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 88 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 6,610 cfs; the highest was 55,100 cfs and the lowest 1,120 cfs.

p10 1,830median 6,610p90 22,350

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 03049500; 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 temp61 F
High / Low61 / 37 F
WindNE 5-7 mph
Pressure1025.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:38 / 18:26
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 Allegheny River this week

The best day on Allegheny River this week looks like Tuesday Oct 27, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Tuesday, Oct 27 — 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
9:53 AM-11:53 AM and 10:22 PM-12:22 AM
Minor period
4:15 AM-5:15 AM
Sun
07:38 to 18:26
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Allegheny 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.

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.

When to come: the Allegheny 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
Rainbow 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 Allegheny 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

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 6 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 67 F, wind to 5 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Pennsylvania fishing license. Kinzua tailwater (8.75 miles, reservoir outflow to Conewango Creek), 2026 PFBC Fishing Summary: from opening day of trout season through Labor Day, 2 trout a day, 14-inch minimum; from the day after Labor Day to opening day, no trout may be kept. Other waters and species: PFBC inland regulations.

Access

Access points along PFBC's Allegheny Wild and Scenic River Water Trail; island camping in the Allegheny Islands Wilderness.

About this water

A western Pennsylvania river with a PFBC-stocked trout tailwater below Kinzua Dam in Warren County; this page's gauge is at Natrona.

Fishing Allegheny River: the full guide

Trout below Kinzua Dam

PFBC stocks about 60,000 fingerling brown and rainbow trout a year just below Kinzua Dam, at Conewango Creek in Warren County, and reports trout up to 24 inches in peak season. The 8.75 miles from the Allegheny Reservoir outflow down to Conewango Creek are under special trout regulations.

Muskellunge, smallmouth and walleye

Muskellunge, smallmouth bass and walleye dominate the river, PFBC says. Muskies can be targeted in slower water and deeper pools at creek mouths, and in the faster, free-flowing upper sections, among big rocks and boulders, smallmouth have historically averaged 15 inches and longer in PFBC surveys.

A water trail and wilderness islands

PFBC's Allegheny Wild and Scenic River Water Trail covers 107 miles, with seven islands totaling 368 acres in the Allegheny Islands Wilderness. Kinzua Dam keeps the river from getting too low to paddle even in summer, though it can run too high, and 87 miles carry the federal wild and scenic designation. Flow readings on this page come from the USGS gauge Allegheny River at Natrona.

Common questions

What does PFBC say about the smallmouth?

In the faster upper sections, PFBC surveys have found smallmouth averaging 15 inches and longer.

How long is the water trail?

PFBC's Allegheny Wild and Scenic River Water Trail is 107 miles, with 87 miles federally designated wild and scenic.

Is fishing good at Allegheny 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 Arthur30 miYoughiogheny River53 miCheat Lake64 miMosquito Lake72 miBerlin Lake73 miPymatuning Reservoir79 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03049500 — Allegheny River at Natrona
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 40.6200, -79.7200 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 7, 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 7, 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.