Water level
489.93ft
-0.03 ft in 24h
USGS 03318005 updated 9:00 AM
Waters · Lakes · KY · Wed, Sep 30
Rough River Lake water level today 489.93 ft, falling
Bite index 5/10 — Picky — the middle of the day carries it.
Work for it.
Built from solunar, pressure, level, wind. This water has no live gauge for every reading — see the sources below.
5/10
Picky
Today's bite windows
12 AM6 AMNoon6 PM11 PM
10Peak 9 8Strong 7 6Good 5 4Slow 3 2 1Dead
Major
2:33 AM–4:33 AM
Moon overhead
Minor
10:45 AM–11:45 AM
Moonset
Major
3:03 PM–5:03 PM
Moon underfoot
Minor
8:16 PM–9:16 PM
Moonrise
Sunrise 6:40 AM · sunset 6:30 PM · tomorrow's first major 3:33 AM–5:33 AM · windows on every water
Solunar · computed updated 9:31 AM
Conditions right now
Water temp estimated
≈64.4°F
7-day mean of air temperature, ±4.5°F typical
computed from NOAA KKY8 updated 9:15 AM
Pressure
30.03inHg
rising · +1.02 hPa/12h
NOAA KKY8 updated 9:15 AM
Wind
6mph S
NOAA KKY8 updated 9:15 AM
Moon
81% waning
Solunar · computed updated 9:31 AM
What this means
Largemouth bass, Crappie, Catfish
This gauge reports level but no water temperature, so depth calls stay open. Read the windows and the pressure trend instead.
Rough River Lake level over the last 8 days
489.93 ft down 0.03 ft in 24 hours
That sits 0% of the way up the band it has held over the last 8 days, between 489.93 and 490.09 ft. Over the week it is down0.13ft.
09-22 489.93–490.09 ft 09-30
USGS 03318005 updated 9:00 AM
The week ahead
| Thu | 6 | Biting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri | 7 | Biting | |
| Sat | 7 | Biting | |
| Sun | 6 | Biting | |
| Mon | 6 | Biting | |
| Tue | 6 | Biting | |
| Wed | 6 | Biting |
Forecast days carry solunar and the wind outlook. Pressure and gauge movement land the morning of.
Rough River Lake boat ramps and public fishing access
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources lists 18 public access points on Rough River Lake. These are the 8 closest to our gauge — the farthest one the agency lists sits 11 mi away.
- State Park Marina 1.3 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: MultipleParking: PavedParking capacity: 51 plusCourtesy dock: YesRestrooms: Year-Round All-HoursCamping: Year-Round All-HoursMarina: Year-Round Limited-HoursFee: No
- Laurel Branch Ramp 2.4 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: MultipleParking: PavedParking capacity: 26 to 50Courtesy dock: YesRestrooms: Year-Round All-HoursCamping: Year-Round All-HoursFee: Yes
- Axtel Ramp 2.7 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: MultipleParking: PavedParking capacity: 26 to 50Courtesy dock: YesRestrooms: Year-Round All-HoursCamping: Year-Round All-HoursMarina: Year-Round Limited-HoursFee: Yes
- Cannon's Point Ramp 3.2 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: SingleParking: UnpavedParking capacity: 25 or LessFee: No
- Pine Ridge 2 Ramp 3.3 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: SingleParking: UnpavedParking capacity: 25 or LessFee: No
- Cave Creek Ramp 3.4 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: MultipleParking: PavedParking capacity: 26 to 50Courtesy dock: YesRestrooms: Seasonal All-HoursCamping: Seasonal All-HoursFee: Yes
- North Fork Ramp 3.6 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: MultipleParking: PavedParking capacity: 26 to 50Courtesy dock: YesRestrooms: Year-Round All-HoursCamping: Year-Round All-HoursFee: Yes
- L.C. Likens Ramp 3.8 miRamp surface: PavedLaunch lanes: SingleParking: UnpavedParking capacity: 25 or LessFee: No
Access data from Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Distances are straight-line from our gauge, not driving distance.
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources · public access inventory
Before you go
A Kentucky fishing license covers this water — $24.31 a year for residents. KDFWR sets the rules and is the one that counts.
What it costs, and who is exempt →Nearby waters today
- 5 Picky Nolin Lake KY · 44 km
- 6 Biting Barren River Lake KY · 88 km
- 6 Biting Green River Lake KY · 110 km
- 5 Picky South Holston Lake TN · 409 km
- 5 Picky Tenkiller Lake OK · 795 km
Questions people ask about Rough River Lake
Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Rough River Lake.
- Is it worth fishing Rough River Lake today?
- 5 out of 10 — picky. Work for it. The strongest stretch is 2:33 AM–4:33 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.
- What time should you fish Rough River Lake?
- Today's major windows run 2:33 AM–4:33 AM and 3:03 PM–5:03 PM, with minor windows at 10:45 AM–11:45 AM and 8:16 PM–9:16 PM. Sunrise is 6:40 AM and sunset 6:30 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.
- What is the water temperature at Rough River Lake?
- No gauge on Rough River Lake measures it, so this is an estimate: roughly 64.4°F, worked out from the 7-day mean of air temperature at NOAA weather station KKY8 (Hancock County Airport-Ron Lewis Field). Checked against the lakes that do have a thermometer, that method lands within about 4.5°F of the real reading and was off by 8.3°F at worst. Treat it as a ballpark, not a measurement — and note the bite index above ignores it entirely, because an error that size would move the verdict as often as it would fix it.
- What is the water level at Rough River Lake right now?
- 489.93 ft, read at 9:00 AM from USGS station 03318005. Over 24 hours it is down 0.03 ft.
- Are water levels rising or falling at Rough River Lake?
- Falling. The lake is down 0.03 ft in 24 hours and down 0.13 ft over the week. Over the last 8 days it has held between 489.93 and 490.09 ft. Every figure here is a difference between two gauge readings, not a forecast — what the level does next depends on rain and on what the dam releases.
- Can you eat the fish you catch in Rough River Lake?
- That is a health question and it belongs with the state, not with us. KY publishes fish consumption advisories through its health or environmental agency, and those are the ones that count. We give no eating advice.
- Do you need a licence to fish Rough River Lake?
- Yes. A Kentucky fishing license covers this water, required from age 16. KDFWR sets the rules and is the one that counts.
Where these numbers come from
- Solunar computed 9:31 AM
- NOAA KKY8 Hancock County Airport-Ron Lewis Field 9:15 AM
- NOAA LMK gridded forecast 7:51 AM
- USGS 03318005 ROUGH RIVER LAKE NEAR FALLS OF ROUGH, KY 9:00 AM
A Corps of Engineers reservoir at Falls of Rough, gauged by USGS on the lake itself. No temperature sensor at the gauge, so the depth calls stay open.
No one types these in by hand. If a source goes quiet, the page says so instead of showing you yesterday.