Share your catch
US

Kewaunee River Fishing Report

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

Door County’s salmon conveyor: the Kewaunee stacks chinook, coho and steelhead within sight of Lake Michigan’s horizon.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
23 cfs
Air / High
56 / 57 F
Wind
SSE 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 04085200, 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.

Kewaunee River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 23 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 57. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:25 AM-11:25 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brown troutExcellent

Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

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.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Wisconsin requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $20.00 for residents. What a Wisconsin licence costs and where to buy it →

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Kewaunee River near Kewaunee.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 04085200.

28384923 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 60 years of October 23

At 23 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 04085200 (Kewaunee River near Kewaunee) is at the 41st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 60 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 26 cfs; the highest was 421 cfs and the lowest 10 cfs.

p10 12median 26p90 101

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 04085200; 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 temp56 F
High / Low57 / 50 F
WindSSE 8-10 mph
Pressure1026.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:15 / 17:52
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)54 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 Kewaunee River this week

The best day on Kewaunee 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
9:25 AM-11:25 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM
Minor period
3:48 AM-4:48 AM
Sun
07:15 to 17:52
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Kewaunee 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.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

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. Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

When to come: the Kewaunee 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
Smallmouth bass
Brown 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 Kewaunee 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. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 57 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Steelhead led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Steelhead led the card at excellent. High of 62 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

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

Regulations

Wisconsin license plus inland trout or Great Lakes salmon stamp as applicable. Seasons and gear rules differ by reach and time of year: check current WDNR tributary regulations.

Access

C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fisheries Facility, bridge crossings on the lower river, and the Kewaunee harbor and piers.

About this water

A Lake Michigan tributary entering at Kewaunee, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin: chinook, coho, steelhead and brown trout runs.

Fishing Kewaunee River: the full guide

A short river with big runs

The Kewaunee River runs through farm country to Lake Michigan at the town of Kewaunee, and its lower miles host some of Wisconsin’s most reliable salmonid runs. The Besadny Anadromous Fisheries Facility and the C.D. Besadny wildlife area anchor the fishery: chinook salmon in September and October, coho with them, steelhead from fall through spring, and brown trout that push in with the fall rains.

Fall salmon

The chinook run peaks in late September and October when rain raises the river: fish stack in the deeper holes and below the weir at Besadny. Spawn sacs, skein and heavy jigs under floats produce, with plugs working the bigger pools. The fish are big and the water is small, which makes for short, violent fights. Crowds concentrate at the accessible holes: walking upstream buys space.

Steelhead and browns

Steelhead are the longer season and the better fishing: fresh fish enter with each fall rain, hold through winter in the deeper pools, and spread onto the gravel in March and April. Beads, spawn and small jigs under floats work all winter, with swung streamers effective in higher water. Brown trout mix in through the fall, and the lower river near the harbor stages fish before they commit.

Access along the lower river

The C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fisheries Facility offers parking, viewing and river access; additional access at bridge crossings and public easements along the lower river. The harbor and pier at Kewaunee produce staging fish in fall and spring for shore anglers. Rain is the trigger for everything: watch the gauge after storms and fish the falling water for the freshest fish.

Common questions

When is the salmon run?

Late September into October, triggered by rain. Fish the falling water after storms for the freshest, most aggressive fish.

Is winter steelheading possible?

Yes: fish hold in the deeper pools all winter. Slow presentations, small baits and warm gear are the requirements.

How crowded is it?

The famous holes fill during the salmon peak. Steelhead season, especially midweek in winter, offers real solitude.

Is fishing good at Kewaunee 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

Green Bay26 miOconto River35 miSheboygan (Lake Michigan)50 miLake Winnebago55 miShawano Lake56 miMenominee River59 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 04085200 — Kewaunee River near Kewaunee
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 16:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 44.4580, -87.4910 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.