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North Fork Clearwater River Fishing Report

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

The North Fork Clearwater above Dworshak Reservoir, a trout river in Clearwater County cut off from steelhead since Dworshak Dam was built.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
679 cfs
Air / High
51 / 53 F
Wind
NW 6 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.

North Fork Clearwater River is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 679 cfs, on the rise. Today brings cloud cover, wind NW around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 53. 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

SteelheadGood

Winter fish hold in the deeper pools; drift small baits slowly, and watch for brief warm spells, which NYSDEC says bring fresh fish into the creeks.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 60 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 steelhead 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 near Canyon RS.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13340600.

630668706679 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 59 years of October 23

At 679 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 13340600 (NF Clearwater near Canyon RS) is at the 13th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 59 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 837 cfs; the highest was 2,910 cfs and the lowest 547 cfs.

p10 664median 837p90 1,880

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 13340600; 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 temp51 F
High / Low53 / 43 F
WindNW 6-15 mph
Pressure1015.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 42%
Sunrise / Sunset07:11 / 17:40
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)46 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 North Fork Clearwater River this week

Today is the pick of the week on North Fork Clearwater River, at 3 out of 5.

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

Today, Oct 23 β€” 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
3:46 AM-4:46 AM
Sun
07:11 to 17:40
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 6 mph
Rain chance
42%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on North Fork Clearwater 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. Winter fish hold in the deeper pools; drift small baits slowly, and watch for brief warm spells, which NYSDEC says bring fresh fish into the creeks.

When to come: the North Fork 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
Steelhead
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 North Fork 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. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 77 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 71 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 fishing license. Trout rules above Dworshak Reservoir and on tributaries such as Kelly Creek are special regulations: see the current IDFG Idaho Fishing Seasons and Rules (Clearwater Region), including its bull trout rules.

Access

Check the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests for road status on the upper river. Around Dworshak Reservoir: Corps sites listed by the Walla Walla District, (208) 476-1255.

About this water

The North Fork Clearwater River above Dworshak Reservoir, Clearwater County, Idaho; the page's gauge is USGS 13340600, NF Clearwater River near Canyon Ranger Station.

Fishing North Fork Clearwater River: the full guide

Above the reservoir

Dworshak Dam backs the North Fork Clearwater into a reservoir 54 miles long; the Corps of Engineers describes the dam as 717 feet high, the third tallest in the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the dam ended the North Fork's steelhead run, and Dworshak National Fish Hatchery at the river's mouth near Orofino was built to make up for it. The water above the reservoir is fished for resident trout.

Rules and flows

Idaho's fishing rules treat the North Fork above the flat water of Dworshak Reservoir as special-rule water, and tributaries such as Kelly Creek carry their own rules. Check the current IDFG Clearwater Region rules before fishing. The USGS gauge 'NF Clearwater River near Canyon Ranger Station' (13340600) reports flows on this reach.

Dworshak below

The Corps lists campgrounds, a marina and fishing access around the reservoir, including Big Eddy, Dent Acres, Canyon Creek and the Powerhouse Road Fishing Access, with Dworshak State Park on the shore.

Common questions

Are there steelhead in the North Fork above Dworshak?

No run reaches it: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says Dworshak Dam cut steelhead off from the North Fork and its tributaries, and the hatchery at the mouth was built to mitigate that loss.

Where can I check river flows?

USGS gauge 13340600, NF Clearwater River near Canyon Ranger Station, reports discharge in real time.

Is Dworshak Reservoir worth fishing on the same trip?

It is 54 miles long with Corps campgrounds, a marina and a fishing access site; check the IDFG rules for the reservoir, which differ from the river above.

Is fishing good at North Fork 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

Dworshak Reservoir30 miSaint Joe River40 miLochsa River48 miSelway River53 miSouth Fork Clearwater River62 miClearwater River73 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13340600 β€” NF Clearwater near Canyon RS
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 46.8400, -115.6200 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.