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West Branch Farmington River (Massachusetts) — a spot well known among anglers. About 27 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 places to fish
Other nearby waters
The course runs nearly straight: there are few bend pools, and the structure to look for is riffles and scour holes.
Massachusetts: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | active | active | active | active | active |
| White crappie | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | active | active | active | active | active |
| Lake trout | peak | peak | active | active | fair | fair | slow | fair | active | active | peak | peak |
| Striped bass | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Brook trout | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | active | active | active | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Pike | fair | fair | fair | fair | active | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair |
| Rainbow trout | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | active | slow | slow | slow |
| Smallmouth bass | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Walleye | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Yellow perch | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Atlantic salmon | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | fair | slow | slow |
| Brown trout | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | peak | active | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
| Largemouth bass | slow | fair | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | fair | fair | fair | slow |
| Bluegill | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
| Carp | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
| Channel catfish | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
Measured river conditions are available for West Branch Farmington River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.
Wednesday, October 21
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
West Branch Farmington River — Wednesday, October 21
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite. Peak 07:00–09:00 and 17:00–19:00.
The computed water temperature is around 56 °F — inside the 39–57 °F comfort range for Atlantic salmon, so baseline activity is high.
Atlantic salmon works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.
Pressure is dropping 0.09 inHg over the day — fish are usually more active ahead of a weather change.
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 average month for Atlantic salmon here.
These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works
Cloudy · feels like +42°
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 fieldG1 geomagnetic storm, Kp 4.7
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?Blue check: this species appears as a catch in reports for this waterbody.
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
West Branch Farmington River — Wednesday, October 21
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite. Peak 07:00–09:00 and 17:00–19:00.
USGS gauge WEST BRANCH FARMINGTON RIVER NEAR NEW BOSTON, MA, 4 mi away · measured 2026-10-21 02:30 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision
Biting
Fish in 1 of 1 report · Mostly Largemouth bass
Anglers have logged 1 fishing report here. Most commonly caught: Largemouth bass. Peak season: May.