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Metolius River Fishing Report

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

Oregon's spring-creek cathedral: a full-grown river erupting from the ground, running gin-clear past ponderosas with wild redbands and bull trout.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
1,190 cfs
Air / High
51 / 54 F
Wind
NE 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 14091500, 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.

Metolius River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 1,190 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 3 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 54. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM: 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 62 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

Oregon requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $50.00 for residents. What a Oregon licence costs and where to buy it β†’

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

Water and weather

Live readings from Metolius River near Grandview.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 14091500.

1,1941,2001,2071,190 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 107 years of October 23

At 1,190 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 14091500 (Metolius River near Grandview) is at the 9th percentile for the date: much below normal. In half of the 107 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 1,350 cfs; the highest was 1,860 cfs and the lowest 1,080 cfs.

p10 1,200median 1,350p90 1,540

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 14091500; 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 / Low54 / 31 F
WindNE 3-5 mph
Pressure1022.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:32 / 18:08
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)43 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 Metolius River this week

The best day on Metolius 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
9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM
Minor period
4:11 AM-5:11 AM
Sun
07:32 to 18:08
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Metolius 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 Metolius 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 Metolius 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 59 F, wind to 8 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 8 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 59 F, wind to 8 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Oregon license. Fly-only, barbless, catch-and-release for all trout: bull trout release mandatory. Check ODFW Metolius rules.

Access

Camp Sherman access points, Gorge campgrounds, Wizard Falls hatchery reach, Bridge 99 lower river.

About this water

29 spring-fed miles to Lake Billy Chinook, Jefferson County, OR. Fly fishing's Oregon shrine.

Fishing Metolius River: the full guide

Born whole from the ground

The Metolius emerges at full size from springs beneath Black Butte: 50F, gin-clear, and utterly constant. It may be America's most beautiful trout stream: turquoise water over golden gravel through old-growth ponderosa: and among its most humbling: wild redband rainbows with doctorates in fly inspection.

The technical game

No bait, no lures: fly-only, barbless, all wild (stocking ended decades ago). The fish hold in plain sight and refuse everything unnatural: long 6X leaders, tiny green drakes and PMDs in season, precise dead drifts. The famous reaches (Camp Sherman's holes, the Gorge) demand your best: the river grades fairly.

Bull trout: the apex bonus

The Metolius holds Oregon's healthiest bull trout population: char to 30-plus inches that ambush 6-inch streamers meant to imitate the kokanee smolts washing from Suttle Lake. Targeting them is legal and regulated (single barbless, release everything): hooking one in that clear water is the river's adrenaline counterweight to its technical serenity.

Camp Sherman rhythms

The river corridor is USFS national treasure: campgrounds strung along the banks, the Camp Sherman store as social hub, and etiquette as tradition (space at the famous pools, fish upstream politely). Winter fishes serenely beautiful: the springs never freeze: and the green drake weeks of late May-June draw the faithful like a festival.

Common questions

Why is the Metolius so hard to fish?

Total clarity, constant flows, wild fish that see every fly: the river hides nothing, including your mistakes. Success is measured in quality takes, and each one feels earned twice.

Can you target bull trout on the Metolius?

Yes: it is one of the few places with a healthy, legal bull trout fishery: big streamers, single barbless hooks, everything released. The lower river near Bridge 99 is the classic water.

Is fishing good at Metolius 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

Crooked River18 miDetroit Lake31 miPrineville Reservoir55 miCrane Prairie Reservoir56 miEast Lake63 miSandy River66 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 14091500 β€” Metolius River near Grandview
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 44.5880, -121.6390 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.