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Pawtuxet River Fishing Report

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

Rhode Island’s urban river: the Pawtuxet runs stocked trout and bass through Cranston and Warwick.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
194 cfs
Air / High
55 / 56 F
Wind
NNE 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01116500, 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.

Pawtuxet River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 194 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 56. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:48 PM-11:48 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 60 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 Pawtuxet River at Cranston.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01116500.

3447561,168194 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 86 years of October 23

At 194 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01116500 (Pawtuxet River at Cranston) is at the 64th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 86 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 159 cfs; the highest was 1,010 cfs and the lowest 49 cfs.

p10 90median 159p90 458

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01116500; 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 temp55 F
High / Low56 / 41 F
WindNNE 11-17 mph
Pressure1027.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:07 / 17:52
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 Pawtuxet River this week

The best day on Pawtuxet 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
9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:48 PM-11:48 PM
Minor period
3:40 AM-4:40 AM
Sun
07:07 to 17:52
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 14 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Pawtuxet 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 Pawtuxet 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 Pawtuxet 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 64 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 56 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 64 F, wind to 18 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 conservation stamp for trout. Consumption advisories apply on parts of the river given its industrial history: check current DEM guidance.

Access

Pawtuxet River Bike Path, Cranston and Warwick city parks, and Pawtuxet Village at the mouth.

About this water

An 11-mile river to Narragansett Bay through Cranston, Warwick and West Warwick, Rhode Island.

Fishing Pawtuxet River: the full guide

A river through the cities

The Pawtuxet River flows about 11 miles from the junction of its north and south branches to Narragansett Bay at Pawtuxet Village, running through Cranston, Warwick and West Warwick. It is a working urban river with a long industrial history, now stocked with trout in spring and holding largemouth and smallmouth bass, panfish and catfish year-round.

Trout in spring

Rhode Island stocks the river ahead of the April opener, providing accessible put-and-take fishing at the designated access points. Fish concentrate below the dams and in the deeper pools. Once water warms in early summer, trout fishing fades and the warm-water species take over through the rest of the year.

Bass and warm-water fishing

Largemouth hold the slower impounded stretches above the dams; smallmouth work the faster rocky reaches. Panfish are everywhere, and channel catfish provide evening fishing. The river also sees runs of herring in spring where fish passage allows, which triggers predatory activity worth timing.

Providence-area logistics

Access is via the Pawtuxet River Bike Path, city parks in Cranston and Warwick, and street-end access points, with Pawtuxet Village at the mouth. This is a river you fish on foot with short walks from parking. Providence surrounds it with every service, and it makes an easy after-work option.

Common questions

Are the trout stocked?

Yes: Rhode Island stocks ahead of the April opener, with fish concentrating below dams and in deeper pools.

Can I eat the fish?

Consumption advisories apply given the industrial history: check current DEM guidance before keeping anything.

Is bank access good?

Yes: the bike path and city parks provide extensive walk-in access through the corridor.

Is fishing good at Pawtuxet 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

Greenwich Bay6 miWickford Harbor12 miFlat River Reservoir13 miStafford Pond16 miSakonnet River20 miNarragansett22 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01116500 — Pawtuxet River at Cranston
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 16:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.7500, -71.4200 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.