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Icicle Creek Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Leavenworth’s creek: Icicle runs hatchery chinook and mountain trout out of the Enchantments.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
113 cfs
Air / High
57 / 58 F
Wind
E 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 12458000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

Icicle Creek lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The river is running 113 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Brown troutGood

Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

SteelheadSlow

First fall runs after rain: fresh chrome in the lower pools on spawn bags and beads.

Tomorrow: Similar at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Icicle Creek above Snow Creek near Leavenworth.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12458000.

115134152113 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp57 F
High / Low58 / 44 F
WindE 8-8 mph
Pressure1013.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain21% cloud, 19%
Sunrise / Sunset06:25 / 19:37
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 58/44 F, wind 12 mph, rain 19%

Fair or better. A 12 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Best: Oct-Apr

Lake-run rainbows that turn tributaries into winter fisheries. First fall runs after rain: fresh chrome in the lower pools on spawn bags and beads.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

When to come: the Icicle Creek 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
Steelhead
Smallmouth bass
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 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 Icicle Creek today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 60 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Smallmouth bass led the card at good. High of 75 F, wind to 19 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Washington license. Chinook seasons open only when returns allow and are announced annually; selective gear rules apply upstream. Bull trout are protected.

Access

Icicle Road from Leavenworth with campgrounds and trailheads along the creek.

About this water

A 32-mile creek from the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to the Wenatchee River at Leavenworth, Chelan County, Washington.

Fishing Icicle Creek: the full guide

A creek from the Alpine Lakes

Icicle Creek flows about 32 miles from the Alpine Lakes Wilderness through the Enchantments country to the Wenatchee River at Leavenworth. It carries a hatchery spring chinook program that supports a short, intense fishery when returns allow, plus resident rainbow and cutthroat trout in the upper canyon and bull trout that are protected.

Chinook when open

The Leavenworth hatchery returns support a spring chinook season in some years, opening in late spring and drawing crowds to a short reach of creek: the fishery is announced annually based on run size, and closures are common. Check WDFW announcements rather than assuming: this is a season that may or may not exist in a given year.

Trout upstream

Above the hatchery reach, Icicle Creek runs as a mountain trout stream through forest and granite, holding rainbow and cutthroat trout in pocket water and pools. Selective gear rules apply in places. The upper canyon toward the wilderness boundary offers genuine solitude and small-stream fishing in dramatic country.

Chelan County logistics

Icicle Road from Leavenworth provides access with campgrounds and trailheads along the creek, including the Enchantments permit trailheads. Leavenworth provides every service. Runoff holds the creek high into June most years; late summer drops it clear and low, favoring careful approaches.

Common questions

Is there a salmon season?

Only in some years, announced based on hatchery returns: check WDFW rather than assuming it will be open.

What about the upper creek?

A mountain trout stream with rainbow and cutthroat in pocket water, under selective gear rules in places.

When does runoff clear?

Usually by late June: the creek runs high with snowmelt until then and drops clear through summer.

Is fishing good at Icicle Creek 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 Chelan37 miSkykomish River50 miLake Sammamish63 miLake Washington71 miBanks Lake73 miMoses Lake73 mi
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