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Klickitat River Fishing Report

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

The Klickitat River: a Columbia tributary from Gilbert Peak to Lyle, with salmon, steelhead, a Yakama Nation dip-net fishery and 10.8 Wild and Scenic miles.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
596 cfs
Air / High
57 / 62 F
Wind
W 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 14113000, 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Klickitat River feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The river is running 596 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 9 mph, falling pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 62. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:43 AM-11:43 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

SteelheadExcellent

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.

Chinook salmonFair

Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Tomorrow: Similar at 64 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

Washington requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $39.95 for residents. What a Washington licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing steelhead here? Check the size and bag limits with WDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Washington, read off the agency, are on the Washington seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Klickitat River near Pitt, WA.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 14113000.

607627647596 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 101 years of October 23

At 596 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 14113000 (Klickitat River near Pitt, WA) is at the 16th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 101 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 760 cfs; the highest was 2,120 cfs and the lowest 501 cfs.

p10 570median 760p90 1,070

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 14113000; 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 temp57 F
High / Low62 / 41 F
WindW 9-13 mph
Pressure1022.3 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:32 / 18:04
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 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 Klickitat River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Klickitat River, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:43 AM-11:43 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM
Minor period
4:09 AM-5:09 AM
Sun
07:32 to 18:04
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Klickitat 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. 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.

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Seasons follow the runs: spring, summer and fall runs on the West Coast, and late summer into fall in Great Lakes rivers

The largest Pacific salmon, caught by trolling and mooching at sea and by drifting and plunking in rivers as adults return to spawn; also stocked in the Great Lakes. Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

When to come: the Klickitat 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
Chinook salmon
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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 Klickitat River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Steelhead led the card at excellent. High of 61 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 69 F, wind to 7 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 66 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

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

Regulations

Washington license, catch record card, and the Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement for salmon and steelhead (ages 15 and older). WDFW rules (eRegulations, updated Oct. 5, 2026), mouth to Fisher Hill Bridge: hatchery steelhead closed July 1-Oct. 31, then 20-inch minimum and 3 a day Nov. 1-Jan. 31; salmon 12-inch minimum, 6 a day with no more than 2 adults, Aug. 1-Jan. 31; trout 14-inch minimum and 2 a day in season; night closure and anti-snagging rule. Fisher Hill Bridge to 400 feet above the Lyle Falls fishway, and the water around the Klickitat Salmon Hatchery, are closed.

Access

Highway 142 along the lower river; WDFW's Turkey Hole site; Washington State Parks land at Pitt; the Klickitat Trail follows the river from the Columbia past Fisher Hill Bridge to Pitt.

About this water

Columbia River tributary in Klickitat and Yakima counties, WA; lowermost 10.8 miles Wild and Scenic (1986).

Fishing Klickitat River: the full guide

The river

Rivers.gov says the Klickitat flows generally south from its origin on Gilbert Peak, in the high country of the Yakama Indian Reservation, to the Columbia River in the Columbia River Gorge. Its lowermost 10.8 miles, from the Wheeler Creek confluence near Pitt to the Columbia, were designated Wild and Scenic (Recreational) on Nov. 17, 1986.

Salmon, steelhead and the gorge

The federal river page calls the Klickitat the most significant anadromous fishery on the Washington side of the Columbia between Bonneville Dam and the Snake River, and says Klickitat spring chinook help meet the Yakama Nation's subsistence needs. Tribal families have fished the Klickitat Gorge with dip nets for generations, from platforms registered with a tribal office.

Boating

Boaters use an undeveloped put-in on Washington State Parks land above the bridge at Pitt and access points along Highway 142, including WDFW's Turkey Hole fee camp, and must take out before the fish screw trap at about river mile 5. Lyle Falls is Class 5+, and no boating is allowed through the tribal in-lieu fishing sites below.

Common questions

Can I keep steelhead on the lower Klickitat in October?

No. Hatchery steelhead are closed from July 1 to Oct. 31 below Fisher Hill Bridge and reopen Nov. 1 with a 20-inch minimum and 3 a day. WDFW listed no Klickitat-specific emergency rule on Oct. 8, 2026.

Can I fish in the Klickitat Gorge?

No. The river from Fisher Hill Bridge to 400 feet above the Lyle Falls fishway is closed to all species, and the gorge holds the tribal in-lieu dip-net sites.

Do I need an endorsement for Klickitat salmon and steelhead?

Yes. WDFW requires the Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement for anglers 15 and older.

Is fishing good at Klickitat River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Columbia River15 miDeschutes River18 miDrano Lake23 miSandy River58 miLake Merwin62 miRiffe Lake68 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 14113000 β€” Klickitat River near Pitt, WA
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.8200, -121.1700 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 8, 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 8, 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.