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Lochsa River Fishing Report

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

Wild and scenic whitewater: the Lochsa runs westslope cutthroat through the Bitterroot wilderness.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
393 cfs
Air / High
46 / 51 F
Wind
ENE 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 13337000, 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.

Lochsa River is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 393 cfs, on the rise. Today brings cloud cover, wind ENE around 3 mph, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 51. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:20 AM-11:20 AM and 9:51 PM-11:51 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 50°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 61 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 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 Lochsa River near Lowell.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13337000.

363390416393 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 99 years of October 23

At 393 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 13337000 (Lochsa River near Lowell) is at the 16th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 99 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 563 cfs; the highest was 6,080 cfs and the lowest 262 cfs.

p10 367median 563p90 1,560

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 13337000; 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 temp46 F
High / Low51 / 42 F
WindENE 3-11 mph
Pressure1016.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 67%
Sunrise / Sunset07:10 / 17:41
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
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 Lochsa River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Lochsa River, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:20 AM-11:20 AM and 9:51 PM-11:51 PM
Minor period
3:45 AM-4:45 AM
Sun
07:10 to 17:41
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 6 mph
Rain chance
67%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lochsa 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 50°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 Lochsa 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 Lochsa 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 75 F, wind to 6 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 70 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 5 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. Catch-and-release rules for cutthroat with gear restrictions: check current IDFG regulations for the Lochsa.

Access

Highway 12 pullouts, campgrounds and trailheads along the entire river through the Clearwater National Forest.

About this water

A 70-mile wild and scenic river through the Bitterroot Mountains, Idaho County, Idaho.

Fishing Lochsa River: the full guide

A wilderness river

The Lochsa River runs about 70 miles through the Bitterroot Mountains of north-central Idaho, joining the Selway to form the Middle Fork Clearwater. Highway 12 follows it the whole way through the Clearwater National Forest, a rare combination of wilderness character and roadside access. Westslope cutthroat trout are the primary species, with rainbows and whitefish alongside.

Cutthroat on dry flies

The fishery is a dry-fly angler’s ideal: westslope cutthroat rise willingly to attractor patterns through the summer, holding in the pockets, seams and tailouts of a boulder-strewn river. Catch-and-release rules protect them. Fish average 10-14 inches with better ones in the deeper pools, and pressure is light given the wilderness setting.

Runoff and the season

The Lochsa is famous for whitewater and its runoff is enormous: the river runs high and unfishable from snowmelt into late June most years. As flows drop through July the fishing opens and stays good into September. Fall brings cooler water and fewer people, with the highway corridor quiet after Labor Day.

Highway 12 logistics

Access is exceptional: Highway 12 parallels the river with pullouts, campgrounds and trailheads throughout, part of the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway. Lowell sits at the confluence with the Selway, with limited services. Missoula is two hours east and Lewiston two hours west: this is genuinely remote country with a paved road through it.

Common questions

When does it become fishable?

After runoff drops, usually July: the river runs high and unfishable from snowmelt into late June most years.

What will I catch?

Westslope cutthroat, mostly on dry flies: willing fish in a wilderness setting with light pressure.

Is access difficult?

No: Highway 12 follows the river the entire way, giving rare road access to genuinely wild water.

Is fishing good at Lochsa 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

Selway River6 miSouth Fork Clearwater River22 miDworshak Reservoir42 miSalmon River45 miNorth Fork Clearwater River48 miClearwater River72 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13337000 — Lochsa River near Lowell
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 46.1500, -115.5800 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.