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Clearwater River Fishing Report

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

Idaho's big-fish highway: home of the B-run steelhead, twenty-pound ocean fish a state away from the sea.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
3,040 cfs
Air / High
57 / 58 F
Wind
W 16 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 13342500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Clearwater River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 3,040 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 16 mph, steady pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:26 AM-11:26 AM and 9:57 PM-11:57 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 63 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Idaho requires a fishing licence from age 14, from $35.50 for residents. What a Idaho licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with IDFG before you keep anything. The season dates for Idaho, read off the agency, are on the Idaho seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from CLEARWATER RIVER AT SPALDING ID.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13342500.

3,0583,1853,3123,040 cfs09/2310/0310/1410/23

Today’s flow against 104 years of October 23

At 3,040 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 13342500 (CLEARWATER RIVER AT SPALDING ID) is at the 28th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 104 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 3,785 cfs; the highest was 30,100 cfs and the lowest 1,830 cfs.

p10 2,250median 3,785p90 7,485

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 13342500; 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 temp57 F
High / Low58 / 46 F
WindW 16-28 mph
Pressure1018.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain87% cloud, 73%
Sunrise / Sunset07:16 / 17:47
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)53 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 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 Clearwater River this week

The best day on Clearwater River this week looks like Wednesday Oct 28, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Wednesday, Oct 28 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:26 AM-11:26 AM and 9:57 PM-11:57 PM
Minor period
3:52 AM-4:52 AM
Sun
07:16 to 17:47
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 16 mph
Rain chance
73%

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

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

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. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Clearwater 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
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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 Clearwater 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 4 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 3 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Idaho license + steelhead permit. Barbless hooks; only adipose-clipped steelhead may be kept, seasons and limits set in-season by IDFG. Summer bass under general rules.

Access

US-12 parallels the river with constant pullouts and named bars from Lewiston to Kooskia; ramps at Myrtle, Cherry Lane, Pink House and Orofino.

About this water

Major Snake River tributary, north-central Idaho. Home of the world's largest-bodied inland steelhead run (B-run). Co-managed with Nez Perce Tribe programs.

Fishing Clearwater River: the full guide

The B-run river

The Clearwater is famous for one number: the size of its steelhead. Its "B-run" fish spend two full years in the Pacific before swimming 500 miles home through eight dams: they return at 12-20+ pounds, the largest inland steelhead run in the world. From its junction with the Snake at Lewiston up past Orofino, the big river carries them from September through spring.

A year on the Clearwater

Fall (Sep-Nov) is the event: fresh B-runs stack the lower river: swung flies with two-handed rods, back-trolled plugs, bobber-and-jig from the bank bars. Winter slows the fish into deep inside seams: it is cold, technical and produces the true giants. Spring reloads with fish moving to hatcheries and tribs. Summer flips the river entirely: one of the West's best smallmouth floats (the fish stacked on every rock ledge) plus resident cutthroat up the forks.

Run-size reality

Modern returns swing hard year to year, and seasons/limits adjust in-season with counts over Bonneville and Lower Granite dams: check Idaho Fish & Game's weekly updates. Most B-runs are hatchery-marked (adipose-clipped) and keepable when seasons open; wild fish always go back.

Common questions

What makes a "B-run" steelhead different?

Two years feeding in the ocean instead of one: they come home twice the size: 12-20+ lb fish, thick as footballs. The Clearwater and Salmon carry nearly all of them.

When should I book a Clearwater trip?

October-November for numbers and aggressive fresh fish; February-March for the biggest, meanest fish of the run. Watch dam counts from August to see the year's strength coming.

Is the smallmouth fishing serious?

Seriously underrated: summer floats from Orofino down produce 50-fish days on ledges and current seams, with fish to 4 lb: a warm-shirt bonus season on a famous cold-water river.

Is fishing good at Clearwater River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Grande Ronde River32 miDworshak Reservoir44 miSalmon River58 miSouth Fork Clearwater River60 miSaint Joe River71 miLochsa River72 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13342500 β€” CLEARWATER RIVER AT SPALDING ID
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 46.4249, -117.0371 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.