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Middle Fork Payette River (Idaho) — a spot well known among anglers. About 60 km long. This page shows an hourly bite forecast for today and the week ahead; the algorithm factors in the weather, atmospheric pressure, and the moon phase.
Other nearby waters
The course is moderately sinuous: pools are scoured at the bends and riffles run between them.
Idaho: the months when each species peaks and when it goes quiet. The current month is outlined.
| Fish | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelhead | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | active | peak | peak |
| Black crappie | active | active | active | peak | peak | active | active | fair | fair | active | active | active |
| Lake trout | peak | peak | peak | peak | active | active | fair | slow | slow | active | peak | active |
| Brook trout | slow | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | active | active | peak | active | fair |
| Cutthroat trout | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | active | peak | active | fair |
| Rainbow trout | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | active | slow |
| Whitefish | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | peak | peak | fair |
| Brown trout | slow | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | active | fair | slow |
| Walleye | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | active | active | active | active | active | fair |
| Chinook salmon | slow | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow | slow |
| Largemouth bass | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | peak | peak | peak | fair | fair |
| Smallmouth bass | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | active | active | fair | fair |
| Yellow perch | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | active | active | fair | fair |
| Burbot | active | active | fair | fair | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | peak | peak |
| Bluegill | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | fair | slow | slow |
| Carp | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | active | fair | slow | slow |
| Channel catfish | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | fair | slow | slow |
Friday, October 23
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses. The water's cold — fish it more delicately and slowly.
ThunderstormThunderstorm possible: put the rod down and leave open shoreline at the first rumble.
Middle Fork Payette River — Friday, October 23
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. A thunderstorm is possible: activity rises before the front and drops after. Peak 09:00–10:00 and 18:00–20:00.
The computed water temperature is around 40 °F — colder than the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie: the fish conserves energy and takes more cautiously.
Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.
Pressure is rising 0.56 inHg over the day — the bite usually settles down after a rise.
One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.
October is an active season for Black crappie here.
These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works
Snow · feels like +27°
The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.
Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.
Geomagnetic fieldquiet, Kp 3
Kp index — NOAA forecast. Not part of the bite score: catches show no link between geomagnetic storms and the bite.
The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.
What are solunar periods?Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses. The water's cold — fish it more delicately and slowly.
ThunderstormThunderstorm possible: put the rod down and leave open shoreline at the first rumble.
Middle Fork Payette River — Friday, October 23
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. A thunderstorm is possible: activity rises before the front and drops after. Peak 09:00–10:00 and 18:00–20:00.
Measured river conditions are available for Middle Fork Payette River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.
USGS gauge MIDDLE FORK PAYETTE RIVER NR CROUCH ID, 12 mi away · measured 2026-10-22 23:30 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision