Best Days to Fish
Every day graded A+ to F, so you know which one to fish
Enter a US zip code, city name, or lake, or tap to use your location
We grade each day from water temperature, weather, pressure, river flow or tides, and solunar timing, weighted by published fisheries research.
Learn how it works →Find the Best Days to Fish in 2026
Our free fishing calendar grades each day from A+ to F. Water temperature carries the most weight, then wind, river flow or tides, rain and barometric pressure, with solunar timing and the moon phase counted as small factors. The weights come from peer-reviewed fisheries research, and the water readings come from USGS gauges and NOAA stations where they exist. Enter your zip code above to get a 7-day fishing forecast for any location in the United States.
This Week's Forecast
See the best fishing days this week with solunar feeding periods and moon phase ratings.
November Fishing Almanac
View the full November 2026 fishing calendar with daily solunar ratings and moon data.
How Our Forecast Works
All 12 factor weights published. See the advanced modifiers and peer-reviewed research behind our fishing scores.
Monthly Fishing Almanac
Species Guides
In-depth guides for 46 popular gamefish covering optimal conditions, seasonal patterns, proven techniques, and species-specific forecasts.
Fishing Tips & Strategy
Science-backed articles on barometric pressure, solunar theory, water temperature, seasonal strategies, and proven techniques.
Fishing Reports
A report for each region four times a year: season dates and limits read from each state agency, what changed, and the best days ahead on popular waters.
Trout Stocking Schedules
When each state stocks trout through the year and where its agency posts the schedule, for 49 states, every sentence quoted from the agency.
Free Fishing Days
Every date you can fish without a license, for all 50 states and DC, with who qualifies and what you still need. Sourced from each state agency.
Fishing by Region
Regional fishing guides covering 12 US regions with top species, key waterbodies, seasonal calendars, and local tips.
Is Today a Good Day to Fish?
Today's solunar rating, feeding windows, and moon phase, updated daily. Check it before you decide whether to load the truck.
Solunar Fishing Times
What solunar tables are, how to read major and minor feeding periods, and how much the moon actually predicts. Today's periods included.
Curious who builds this and why it stays free? About Best Days to Fish
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a sunny, calm day rated worse than a gray one?+
That is almost always a bluebird day: the clear, still, cold-feeling day that arrives right behind a cold front, once the barometer has stopped falling and started to climb. It is the nicest day of the week to be outdoors and frequently the slowest one to fish. The sunshine is not the cause. Harsh light reaches deeper, a slick surface gives fish nothing to hide under, the water sheds heat overnight under a clear sky, and fish that were roaming shallow ahead of the weather pull back to cover and stop chasing. We label these days in the forecast so the grade is not a mystery, and the label is deliberately mild: fish hold tight and feed in shorter windows, which is a real effect and not a reason to stay home. Fish slower and closer to cover.
Why is every day this week showing the same grade?+
If you have picked a species and the water temperature is outside the range that species can comfortably feed in, the grade is capped no matter how good the rest of the day looks. A largemouth bass in 45 degree water is not going to have a great day because the wind dropped. When that cap is what set your grade, the forecast now says so directly: it names the temperature, the species limit it fell outside, and what the day would have scored otherwise. Flat weeks usually mean the cap is doing the work, and the fix is either a different target species or different water.
Does wind direction affect the fishing score?+
Not for its own sake, and that is deliberate. The old proverb about south winds and east winds is the most quoted saying in fishing, but a 2017 review by Lennox and colleagues traced the apparent effect to confounded weather patterns and to how wind interacts with the shape of a particular lake, rather than to compass direction itself. We removed the directional scoring table in April 2026. What we score instead is wind speed and steadiness, which is where the measurable signal actually sits. Direction counts in one place only: a north-westerly is one of the signs we use to confirm that a cold front has passed, alongside a rising barometer, a clear sky and a drop in temperature, so it can help mark a day as post-frontal. Direction is also displayed, because it tells you which bank the wind is stacking bait against, and that is genuinely useful for deciding where to fish.
What are the best days to fish in 2026?+
The best days to fish in 2026 depend mostly on the water temperature and weather where you fish, with the moon playing a smaller part. New and full moons, roughly two weeks apart, are the traditional favorites, but the evidence for them is weak. Our forecast rates every day from A+ to F for your location, weighing water temperature most heavily, then wind, rain, pressure, sky, tides or river flow, and the moon. Enter your zip code on our homepage to see the best rated days for your specific location.
Is today a good day to fish?+
Whether today is a good day to fish depends on your location and the current conditions. Our fishing forecast analyzes real-time data from NOAA, USGS, and Open-Meteo including moon phase, solunar feeding periods, barometric pressure trends, wind speed and steadiness, water temperature, and precipitation to give you a daily grade from A+ to F. Enter your zip code on our homepage to get today's fishing rating and see the best times to fish near you.