Share your catch
US

Russian River Fishing Report, California

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Wine-country steelhead: the Russian still runs chrome through the redwoods when winter rain opens the mouth.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
184 cfs
Air / High
64 / 67 F
Wind
WSW 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 11467000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Russian River rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The river is running 184 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 4 mph, falling pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 67. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:52 AM-11:52 AM and 10:21 PM-12:21 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

SteelheadExcellent

Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Brown troutExcellent

Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

Tomorrow: Similar at 70 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

California requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $64.54 for residents. What a California licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing steelhead here? Check the size and bag limits with CDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for California, read off the agency, are on the California seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Russian River at Hacienda Bridge near Guerneville.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 11467000.

114142169184 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 87 years of October 23

At 184 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 11467000 (Russian River at Hacienda Bridge near Guerneville) is at the 38th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 87 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 208 cfs; the highest was 1,800 cfs and the lowest 14 cfs.

p10 125median 208p90 346

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 11467000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp64 F
High / Low67 / 51 F
WindWSW 4-5 mph
Pressure1019.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:29 / 18:23
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)58 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Russian River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Russian River, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:52 AM-11:52 AM and 10:21 PM-12:21 AM
Minor period
4:16 AM-5:16 AM
Sun
07:29 to 18:23
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Russian River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Great Lakes tributaries from fall through spring; West Coast rivers have both summer and winter runs

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the Pacific or the Great Lakes to grow, then return up rivers to spawn; unlike most Pacific salmon they can survive spawning and spawn again. Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Close to Vermont's 53-66°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

When to come: the Russian River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Steelhead
Smallmouth bass
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Russian River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 63 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

California requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

California license plus steelhead report card. Wild steelhead release; hatchery fish (adipose-clipped) may be kept per current limits. Low-flow closures and salmon restrictions: check CDFW before each trip.

Access

Steelhead Beach and Forestville accesses, Monte Rio, Vacation Beach, Duncans Mills bars, and Jenner at the mouth.

About this water

A 110-mile coastal river through Sonoma County wine country to the Pacific at Jenner: winter steelhead, spring shad, summer smallmouth.

Fishing Russian River: the full guide

The comeback river

The Russian drains 110 miles of Mendocino and Sonoma county hills to the sea at Jenner, and for a century it was California’s most famous steelhead river: the old photographs of shoulder-to-shoulder anglers at the Monte Rio riffles are its scripture. Decades of habitat loss cut the runs hard, but hatchery and wild winter steelhead still climb the river from December through March, joined by a fall king salmon run and, in the lower river, a robust smallmouth and shad fishery once the water warms.

Winter steelhead windows

The game is timing: the sandbar at the mouth must breach (first big rains), and the river fishes on the drop after each storm: the Hacienda Bridge gauge falling through 1,000 cfs toward 300 with four feet of visibility is the green light. Classic runs: Duncans Mills, Monte Rio, Vacation Beach, the Ulpf riffle at Guerneville: fish best with drifted roe, beads and plugs from prams, or spoons and jigs from the gravel bars.

The other seasons

Summer belongs to smallmouth: the middle river from Healdsburg through Alexander Valley fishes like an underrated bass stream: wade wet, throw small topwaters and grubs through the willow pockets. American shad run in May-June below the Healdsburg riffles. Salmon (mostly kings, October-November) are largely a closed or restricted fishery in recent years: check current DFW rules before targeting them.

Working the lower river

Access stacks along the Highway 116 corridor: Steelhead Beach, Sunset Beach and Forestville River Access, Monte Rio beach, and Casini Ranch near Duncans Mills. Low-flow closures are the crucial rule: the river closes to fishing when flows drop below thresholds: check the DFW low-flow hotline before every winter trip. Guerneville makes the natural base, with Santa Rosa thirty minutes away.

Common questions

Is the steelhead run still worth fishing?

Yes, managed expectations attached: a few thousand fish still return, and a post-storm drop at Monte Rio can feel like the old days for an afternoon.

What flows should I look for?

Falling water between roughly 300 and 1,000 cfs at Hacienda with greenish visibility. Rising or chocolate water is a day to tie leaders.

Can I fish it in summer?

The smallmouth fishery from Healdsburg up is legitimately fun and nearly private: light tackle, wet wading, and dozens of fish on a good day.

Is fishing good at Russian River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Bodega Bay11 miLake Sonoma19 miClear Lake44 miLake Berryessa50 miPutah Creek59 miSan Pablo Reservoir61 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 11467000 — Russian River at Hacienda Bridge near Guerneville
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.4505, -123.1294 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.