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Dworshak Reservoir Fishing Report

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

Fifty-four miles of reservoir behind a 717-foot dam: Dworshak holds Idaho’s record smallmouth, kokanee and stocked rainbow trout.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
679 cfs
Air / High
53 / 55 F
Wind
W 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 13340600, 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.

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

Dworshak Reservoir rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The main inflow is running 679 cfs, on the rise. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 55. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:53 PM-11:53 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Smallmouth bassGood

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.

SteelheadGood

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.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

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 →

Chasing smallmouth bass 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 NF CLEARWATER RIVER NR CANYON RANGER STATION ID (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13340600.

630668706679 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp53 F
High / Low55 / 44 F
WindW 10-18 mph
Pressure1017.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 57%
Sunrise / Sunset07:13 / 17:43
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)46 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~62 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 Dworshak Reservoir this week

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

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

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:53 PM-11:53 PM
Minor period
3:48 AM-4:48 AM
Sun
07:13 to 17:43
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 11 mph
Rain chance
57%

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

Species guide

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

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.

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. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

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.

When to come: the Dworshak Reservoir 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
Smallmouth bass
Rainbow trout
Steelhead
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 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 Dworshak Reservoir 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 75 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 7 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 70 F, wind to 6 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 fishing license. See the current IDFG fishing seasons and rules for Dworshak Reservoir’s trout, kokanee and smallmouth limits.

Access

Corps sites at Big Eddy (marina), Bruces Eddy, Dent Acres, Grandad, Canyon Creek and Merry’s Bay; Powerhouse Road fishing access; boat-in mini-camps; Dworshak State Park.

About this water

A 54-mile Corps of Engineers reservoir on the North Fork Clearwater River in Clearwater County, Idaho, behind 717-foot Dworshak Dam.

Fishing Dworshak Reservoir: the full guide

The dam and the reservoir

The Corps of Engineers describes Dworshak Dam on the North Fork Clearwater River as a 717-foot straight-axis concrete gravity dam, the tallest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and the third tallest dam in the United States. The reservoir behind it is 54 miles long. In summer the Corps releases cool water to aid salmon and steelhead migrations on the lower Snake River, and the project includes Dworshak National Fish Hatchery.

Smallmouth bass

Idaho’s certified-weight smallmouth record, 9.72 pounds and 23.75 inches, came from Dworshak in 2006, and IDFG calls the fishery world-class. In its 2024–25 update the department reported 3- to 5-pound fish as common at tournaments and more juvenile bass than in the previous two years, pointing to similar or better numbers in 2025 and 2026.

Kokanee and rainbow trout

Most Dworshak kokanee live two years before spawning, and IDFG describes a boom-and-bust cycle in their numbers. Its 2024 trawl found catchable kokanee near the 20-year average length of 10 inches, fewer age-1 fish and a strong fry class that could mean many age-2 kokanee in 2026. IDFG stocks roughly 10,000 12-inch rainbow trout from May through October at the Dent Acres launch, and Idaho’s certified rainbow trout record, 20.03 pounds, came from Dworshak in January 2026.

Recreation sites

Corps sites around the reservoir include Big Eddy, which has a marina, Bruces Eddy, Dent Acres, Grandad Recreation Area, Canyon Creek, Merry’s Bay, the Powerhouse Road fishing access and boat-in mini-camps, and Dworshak State Park is also on the reservoir.

Common questions

How big do Dworshak smallmouth get?

Idaho’s certified-weight record, 9.72 pounds, came from Dworshak in 2006, and IDFG reports 3- to 5-pound fish as common at tournaments.

How is the kokanee fishing?

It runs in cycles. IDFG’s 2024 trawl found fewer age-1 kokanee, which suggests fewer but larger fish in 2025, and a strong fry class that could produce many age-2 fish in 2026.

Are rainbow trout stocked?

Yes. IDFG stocks roughly 10,000 12-inch rainbows from May through October at the Dent Acres launch, about a quarter of them in October.

Is fishing good at Dworshak Reservoir 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

North Fork Clearwater River30 miLochsa River42 miClearwater River44 miSouth Fork Clearwater River45 miSaint Joe River46 miSelway River47 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13340600 — NF CLEARWATER RIVER NR CANYON RANGER STATION ID (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 46.6094, -116.1532 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.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
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 text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was 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.