Occur when the moon is directly overhead or underfoot. These are the strongest feeding times of the day.
Minor Periods (1-2 hours)
Occur during moonrise and moonset. Secondary feeding windows that still offer good activity.
October 2026 Fishing Calendar
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1🌖C
2🌗C
3🌗C
4🌗D
5🌘C
6🌘C
7🌘C
8🌘C+
9🌑B
10🌑C+
11🌑C+
12🌒C+
13🌒C
14🌒C
15🌒C
16🌒C
17🌓D
18🌓D
19🌓C+
20🌓C
21🌔C
22🌔C
23🌔C
24🌕C+
25🌕B
26🌕C+
27🌕C+
28🌖C+
29🌖C
30🌖C
31🌗C
Best (A/A+)
Good (B/B+)
Fair (C/C+)
Poor (D/F)
Fall Fishing Tips
Fall triggers aggressive feeding as fish prepare for winter. Follow baitfish migrations and target transition zones. Cooling water pushes fish shallow again. Some of the best fishing of the year.
Best Fishing Days in October 2026
The top-rated fishing days in October 2026 are October 9, October 25, October 10, October 26, October 11, based on solunar activity, moon phases, and major/minor feeding periods. Each day in our free fishing almanac is graded from A+ (excellent) to F (poor) so you can plan your trips around peak fish activity.
Fall Fishing: Fall triggers aggressive feeding as fish prepare for winter. Follow baitfish migrations and target transition zones. Cooling water pushes fish shallow again. Some of the best fishing of the year.
What the Fish Are Doing in October
Pre-spawn (2 species)
Brown Trout, Redfish (Red Drum) feed hard before spawning in October, and our scoring raises their activity by up to 1.30x. Look for brown trout on gravel shallows 2-4 ft.
Spawning (3 species)
Brown Trout, Flounder, Redfish (Red Drum) spawn during October. Fish on beds are harder to tempt, so our grades apply a spawn-lockout penalty. Target pre-spawn and post-spawn species instead, or fish deeper staging areas nearby. Some species appear in both lists because spawning runs across the month, with northern waters lagging southern ones by several weeks.
Fall feeding (14 species)
Black Sea Bass, Musky, Northern Pike, Striped Bass, Flounder, Snook, Walleye, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout, Tarpon, Bluegill feed aggressively through October ahead of winter, with activity lifted by up to 1.40x. Cooling water and baitfish movement make this some of the year's best fishing.
Post-spawn recovery (1 species)
Snook are recovering from the spawn in October. Expect a short lull before they return to normal feeding, and favour slower presentations near spawning flats.