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Owyhee River Fishing Report

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

The lower Owyhee below Owyhee Dam: a desert tailwater ODFW manages for brown trout and hatchery rainbows, with browns catch-and-release.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
24 cfs
Air / High
52 / 53 F
Wind
NW 14 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 13183000, 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.

Owyhee River is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 24 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings cloud cover, wind NW around 14 mph, steady pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 53. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:27 AM-12:27 PM and 10:51 PM-12:51 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: Similar at 56 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 OWYHEE RIVER BELOW OWYHEE DAM, OR.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13183000.

38659124 cfs09/2310/0510/1410/23

Today’s flow against 97 years of October 23

At 24 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 13183000 (OWYHEE RIVER BELOW OWYHEE DAM, OR) is at the 62nd percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 97 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 9 cfs; the highest was 245 cfs and the lowest 1 cfs.

p10 3median 9p90 147

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 13183000; 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 temp52 F
High / Low53 / 40 F
WindNW 14-22 mph
Pressure1018.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 42%
Sunrise / Sunset08:13 / 18:52
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 Owyhee River this week

The best day on Owyhee River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 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
10:27 AM-12:27 PM and 10:51 PM-12:51 AM
Minor period
4:52 AM-5:52 AM
Sun
08:13 to 18:52
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 18 mph
Rain chance
42%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Owyhee 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 Owyhee 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 Owyhee 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 67 F, wind to 11 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 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 67 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 angling license. ODFW 2026 Southeast Zone: brown trout catch-and-release; rainbow trout 5 a day, 8-inch minimum; bait allowed.

Access

BLM Snively Hot Springs day-use site on the river (no camping, closed at night). ODFW's report links the current dam-release flow.

About this water

The Owyhee River below Owyhee Dam, Malheur County, Oregon.

Fishing Owyhee River: the full guide

The tailwater

ODFW lists the Lower Owyhee River below Owyhee Dam for brown trout and hatchery rainbow trout. Releases from the dam set the flow; ODFW reported about 116 cfs in late July 2026, and USGS gauge 13183000 (Owyhee River below Owyhee Dam) reports it live.

Rules for browns and rainbows

Oregon's 2026 Southeast Zone regulations make brown trout catch-and-release on the Owyhee River, allow 5 rainbow trout a day at 8 inches or longer, and allow bait. ODFW is running a tagging study of trout movement in the tailwater; if you catch a tagged fish you can leave the tag in, then report its number and the reach where you caught it.

Snively Hot Springs

The BLM Vale District runs Snively Hot Springs as a day-use area beside the river. It is closed from sunset to sunrise, and camping is prohibited in and around the site.

Common questions

Can I keep brown trout on the Owyhee?

No. ODFW's 2026 rules make brown trout catch-and-release; you may keep up to 5 rainbow trout a day.

What controls the flow?

Releases from Owyhee Dam. USGS gauge 13183000, just below the dam, shows the current flow.

Can I camp at Snively Hot Springs?

No. BLM manages it as a day-use area and prohibits camping in and around the site.

Is fishing good at Owyhee 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

Lake Lowell29 miBoise River48 miPayette River56 miLucky Peak Reservoir61 miBrownlee Reservoir68 miCascade Reservoir88 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13183000 β€” OWYHEE RIVER BELOW OWYHEE DAM, OR
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.6500, -117.2400 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.