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THE ATLAS · PA · FREESTONE

Susquehanna River

The best month to fish the Susquehanna River is June. The month to avoid is March. Right now, in August, it is worth going.

  1. January: 71 out of 100
  2. February: 66 out of 100
  3. March: 49 out of 100
  4. April: 50 out of 100
  5. May: 77 out of 100
  6. June: 93 out of 100
  7. July: 88 out of 100
  8. August: 85 out of 100
  9. September: 81 out of 100
  10. October: 66 out of 100
  11. November: 71 out of 100
  12. December: 71 out of 100
AUGUST: GO85/100
WHERE IT IS
LOADING THE MAP…

GAUGE 01570500 · COLOURED BY AUGUST

THE NUMBERS

Month by month

MONTHTYPICAL FLOWRANGE (P20–P80)WATERAIR HIGHRAINSCORE
January42,195 cfs27,940–58,81071
February35,380 cfs20,300–63,97066
March58,375 cfs44,910–74,40049
April58,320 cfs38,810–79,70054.9°F50
May44,750 cfs31,950–63,99062.8°F77
June22,090 cfs14,180–31,01075.1°F93
July16,515 cfs7,819–33,38082.0°F88
AugustNOW12,755 cfs7,262–24,65077.9°F85
September8,556 cfs5,086–23,40072.0°F81
October12,840 cfs8,690–33,48060.6°F66
November25,605 cfs13,150–37,35071
December41,765 cfs30,370–53,27071
WHERE THESE NUMBERS COME FROM

Flow and water temperature are medians of the monthly means reported by USGS gauge 01570500 over 2006-2025. Air temperature and precipitation are ten-year normals from Open-Meteo at this river’s gauge coordinates.

The window is deliberate. USGS’s own full-record statistics for a dammed river reach back before the dam — at Lees Ferry, to 1922, forty-one years before Glen Canyon closed — and describe a river that no longer exists.

Flow is scored against this river’s own fishable band of 16,51542,195 cfs. There is no universal band: 8,000 cfs is low water on a big tailwater and a flood on a spring creek.

Water temperature is a ceiling rather than a weight. Above about 68°F a trout that is fought and released frequently dies anyway, so no month above that line is scored as worth booking, however good its flow.

IF THIS MONTH IS WRONG

The Susquehanna River is at its best in June — water around 75°F, flows near 22,090 cfs.

← RIVERS GOING WELL IN AUGUST

Regulations, licences and access change without notice and are not reproduced here as fact — check the state agency before you travel. A median describes twenty years; it does not forecast your week. Source: U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Information System.