Share your catch
US

Skagit River Fishing Report

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

The Skagit: a Puget Sound river regulated reach by reach, with fall coho seasons and wild steelhead fishing only when WDFW opens it by emergency rule.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
7,660 cfs
Air / High
55 / 56 F
Wind
NW 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 12200500, 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Skagit River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 7,660 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 56. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:19 PM-12:19 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

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.

SteelheadGood

Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

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

Washington requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $39.95 for residents. What a Washington licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing steelhead here? Check the size and bag limits with WDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Washington, read off the agency, are on the Washington seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Skagit River near Mount Vernon.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12200500.

7,6858,7159,7457,660 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 86 years of October 23

At 7,660 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 12200500 (Skagit River near Mount Vernon) is at the 21st percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 86 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 11,300 cfs; the highest was 78,800 cfs and the lowest 3,770 cfs.

p10 6,520median 11,300p90 25,880

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 12200500; 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 / 39 F
WindNW 8-11 mph
Pressure1025.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:41 / 18:04
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)53 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Skagit River this week

The best day on Skagit River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:19 PM-12:19 AM
Minor period
4:14 AM-5:14 AM
Sun
07:41 to 18:04
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 9 mph
Rain chance
1%

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

Species guide

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

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Great Lakes tributaries from fall through spring; West Coast rivers have both summer and winter runs

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the Pacific or the Great Lakes to grow, then return up rivers to spawn; unlike most Pacific salmon they can survive spawning and spawn again. Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

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 Skagit 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
Steelhead
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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 Skagit River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Steelhead led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 9 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 64 F, wind to 6 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 60 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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 plus catch record card for salmon and steelhead. Skagit River rules vary by reach (WDFW, updated Oct 5, 2026): fall coho 12 in., 4 a day with no more than 2 wild coho through September, 2 a day in October; cutthroat and wild rainbow 14 in.; Dolly Varden/bull trout 20 in., retention only in listed windows; night closures; Baker River mouth closed June 1–Sept 15. Steelhead only under WDFW emergency rules.

Access

USGS gauge 12200500, Skagit River near Mount Vernon, reports flow and stage. No access sites were verified on a WDFW page.

About this water

The Skagit River in Skagit and Whatcom counties, Washington, flowing from the Gorge powerhouse at Newhalem past Marblemount, Rockport, Concrete and Mount Vernon to Puget Sound.

Fishing Skagit River: the full guide

Steelhead by emergency rule

Washington's permanent rules for the Skagit give no winter steelhead season. WDFW has opened catch-and-release steelhead fishing on parts of the Skagit and Sauk only by emergency rule when the wild run allows it under the Skagit steelhead Resource Management Plan. In 2025, with a preseason forecast of 7,019 wild steelhead, the rule ran from February 1 to April 15 on the Skagit from the Dalles Bridge at Concrete to the Cascade River Road Bridge at Marblemount, catch-and-release except 2 hatchery steelhead a day, with selective gear rules, a night closure and no fishing from a boat under power.

Fall coho and the reach rules

WDFW's rules (updated October 5, 2026) split the river into reaches from the mouth to the Gorge powerhouse at Newhalem, each with its own dates. In fall the salmon rules center on coho: 12-inch minimum, 4 a day with no more than 2 wild coho through September, then 2 a day in October, releasing salmon other than coho. Above the Dalles Bridge at Concrete the coho season starts September 16. The river within 200 feet of the Baker River mouth is closed from June 1 to September 15, and night closures apply through most of the fishing seasons.

Trout and char

Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout must be at least 14 inches. Dolly Varden and bull trout of at least 20 inches may be kept as part of the trout limit only in the windows the rules allow, such as November 1 to January 31; they are closed to retention through the fall salmon season. Above Marblemount, from the Cascade River Road Bridge to the Gorge powerhouse at Newhalem, selective gear rules apply and internal combustion motors are prohibited.

Common questions

Is the Skagit open for steelhead?

Only when WDFW opens it by emergency rule. In 2025 a catch-and-release season ran February 1 to April 15 between Concrete and Marblemount, with 2 hatchery steelhead allowed a day. Check WDFW's emergency rules each winter.

Can I keep coho from the Skagit?

Yes, in the fall seasons: 12 inches minimum, 4 a day with no more than 2 wild coho through September and 2 a day in October. The opening date depends on the reach: August 16 in the lowest reaches, September 16 above Concrete.

Can I keep a bull trout?

Only Dolly Varden or bull trout of 20 inches or more, as part of the trout limit, and only in the windows the rules allow for each reach. They are closed to retention during most of the fall salmon season.

Is fishing good at Skagit River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Baker Lake36 miSkykomish River50 miLake Washington59 miLake Sammamish61 miElwha River61 miIcicle Creek97 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 12200500 — Skagit River near Mount Vernon
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 48.4450, -122.3340 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 6, 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 6, 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.