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Pawcatuck River Fishing Report

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

Rhode Island’s border river: the Pawcatuck runs trout, bass and a returning herring run to the sea.

Seasonal closure: The designated trout water sections of the river. Next closed from March 1, 2027 until 6 a.m. on April 10, 2027. Rhode Island closes all designated trout waters to fishing from midnight on the last day of February until 6 a.m. on the second Saturday in April. Source, read October 12, 2026.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
429 cfs
Air / High
58 / 58 F
Wind
NNE 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01118500, 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.

Pawcatuck River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 429 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:20 AM-11:20 AM and 9:50 PM-11:50 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 50°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: Similar at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Rhode Island requires a fishing licence from age 15, from $24.00 for residents. What a Rhode Island licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Pawcatuck River at Westerly.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01118500.

4848371,190429 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 85 years of October 23

At 429 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01118500 (Pawcatuck River at Westerly) is at the 83rd percentile for the date: above normal. In half of the 85 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 191 cfs; the highest was 1,900 cfs and the lowest 50 cfs.

p10 84median 191p90 530

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01118500; 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 temp58 F
High / Low58 / 40 F
WindNNE 8-13 mph
Pressure1027.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:08 / 17:54
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 Pawcatuck River this week

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

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — 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
9:20 AM-11:20 AM and 9:50 PM-11:50 PM
Minor period
3:42 AM-4:42 AM
Sun
07:08 to 17:54
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 12 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Pawcatuck 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 50°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 Pawcatuck 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 Pawcatuck 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 66 F, wind to 16 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 18 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 65 F, wind to 17 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Rhode Island license plus trout stamp for trout; Connecticut rules apply on parts of the border reach. Striped bass rules per current DEM regulations.

Access

Road crossings, state management areas and Westerly-area access for the tidal river; canoe floats for the middle reaches.

About this water

A 34-mile river from Worden Pond to Little Narragansett Bay at Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island.

Fishing Pawcatuck River: the full guide

A river to the sea

The Pawcatuck River flows about 34 miles from Worden Pond through southern Rhode Island to Little Narragansett Bay at Westerly, forming part of the Connecticut border. It holds stocked and wild trout in the upper reaches, largemouth and smallmouth bass through the middle river, and in the tidal lower reaches, striped bass and a river herring run restored by dam removals.

Trout and bass

The upper river and its tributaries, including the Wood River, hold trout stocked by the state and wild fish in the colder feeders: spring and fall are the seasons. The middle river warms and holds bass, pickerel and panfish in slower, weedier water, fished well from canoe or kayak given the limited bank access.

Herring and stripers

Dam removals over the past two decades reopened the river to river herring, whose runs have rebounded substantially: a conservation success that also brings predators. Striped bass follow bait into the tidal lower river in spring and fall, fished around Westerly and the bay, giving anglers salt and fresh options in one river.

Washington County logistics

Access is via road crossings, state management areas and the Westerly area for the tidal water, with canoe and kayak floats the best way to fish the middle river. Westerly, Hopkinton and Charlestown provide services. Flows respond to rain but the river runs steadily given its pond and swamp headwaters.

Common questions

What did the dam removals do?

Reopened the river to river herring, whose runs rebounded substantially: a genuine conservation success.

Can I catch trout and stripers?

In the same river, yes: trout in the upper reaches, striped bass in the tidal water near Westerly.

How do I fish the middle river?

By canoe or kayak: bank access is limited and the slower water suits paddling.

Is fishing good at Pawcatuck 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

Watchaug Pond6 miNinigret Pond7 miWood River9 miWorden Pond12 miThames River15 miPoint Judith16 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01118500 — Pawcatuck River at Westerly
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 41.3800, -71.8000 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.