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Delaware River Fishing Report

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

The Upper Delaware on the New York-Pennsylvania line, which the National Park Service calls one of the finest fishing rivers in the Northeast, with public accesses from Hancock to Port Jervis.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
1,100 cfs
Air / High
60 / 60 F
Wind
N 1 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01427510, 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.

Delaware River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 1,100 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 1 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 60. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:34 AM-11:34 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s Β°F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 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

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

Chasing walleye 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 Delaware River at Callicoon.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01427510.

1,1111,5281,9451,100 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 51 years of October 23

At 1,100 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01427510 (Delaware River at Callicoon) is at the 19th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 51 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 1,450 cfs; the highest was 7,960 cfs and the lowest 506 cfs.

p10 960median 1,450p90 6,770

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01427510; 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 temp60 F
High / Low60 / 37 F
WindN 1-7 mph
Pressure1026.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:21 / 18:06
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)51 F USGS
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 Delaware River this week

The best day on Delaware 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
9:34 AM-11:34 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM
Minor period
3:55 AM-4:55 AM
Sun
07:21 to 18:06
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 5 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

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. Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s Β°F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

When to come: the Delaware 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
Walleye
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 Delaware 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. Walleye led the card at good. High of 64 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 66 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Walleye led the card at good. High of 68 F, wind to 9 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

New York or Pennsylvania fishing license (ages 16+) on the NY-PA boundary river; New Jersey licenses are not valid. Pennsylvania license holders need a trout permit to keep trout. See the boundary-water tables in the current PFBC summary ('Delaware River and Estuary') and NYSDEC regulations for trout, bass, walleye and shad seasons and limits.

Access

Public accesses listed by the NPS include Hancock, Buckingham, Lordville, Long Eddy, Basket Creek, Kellams Bridge, Callicoon, Cochecton, Damascus, Skinners Falls, Narrowsburg, Darbytown, Ten Mile River, Lackawaxen/Zane Grey, Highland, Barryville and Mongaup. Launch only at these public accesses.

About this water

The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River along the New York-Pennsylvania border, from Hancock (river mile 330) to near Port Jervis. The page's gauge is USGS 01427510, Delaware River at Callicoon NY.

Fishing Delaware River: the full guide

The Upper Delaware

The National Park Service manages the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, where the surrounding land stays in private ownership. It calls the Delaware the last major undammed river in the eastern United States and one of the finest fishing rivers in the northeastern United States. The NPS access list runs from Hancock, New York, at river mile 330 down to the Mongaup access near Port Jervis at river mile 261.

One river, two states' rules

A valid New York or Pennsylvania fishing license covers anglers 16 and older on the river between the two states, from a boat or either shore; New Jersey licenses are not valid there. Pennsylvania license holders also need a trout permit to keep trout. Seasons, sizes and limits for this boundary water are in the boundary-waters section of each state's regulations summary, and Pennsylvania's table sets different trout limits north and south of I-84.

Launching and flows

The NPS says boats, kayaks, canoes and tubes may be launched only at public accesses run by New York DEC and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, never from private land. Motorized boats can launch at Narrowsburg and Darbytown; several other sites, such as Basket Creek and Kellams Bridge, are fishing-only accesses. The USGS gauge 'Delaware River at Callicoon NY' (01427510) reports flows in the middle of the reach.

Common questions

Which license do I need?

Either a New York or a Pennsylvania license covers the boundary river between the two states, according to the NPS; a New Jersey license does not. Pennsylvania anglers also need a trout permit to keep trout.

Where can I launch a boat?

Only at public accesses run by NY DEC or PFBC. Narrowsburg, Darbytown and Lackawaxen/Zane Grey take motorized boats; many others are for canoes and kayaks, and Basket Creek and Kellams Bridge are fishing-only.

Is there a free fishing day?

The NPS notes that no license is needed on the Upper Delaware during the Fish-For-Free days of National Fishing Week in June; all other rules still apply.

Is fishing good at Delaware 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

Beaverkill14 miWillowemoc Creek15 miWest Branch Delaware River23 miLake Wallenpaupack25 miEsopus Creek43 miSwartswood Lake49 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01427510 β€” Delaware River at Callicoon
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 41.7600, -75.0600 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.