With recent warm and wet weather, steelhead are moving into the lower river

John Day River - Dayville, OR


by OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Staff
1-17-2024
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Steelhead fishing is open through April 30, 2024 as we've reached our minimum target of returning wild adults over Bonneville Dam. With recent warm and wet weather, steelhead are moving into the lower river.‌

Keep an eye on the Service Creek gage, and watch for flows above 1,000 CFS, allowing for good access for drift boats and rafts. Current conditions are very cold with bank ice forming. Weather for the near term should be cold, then warming with a wintery mix of snow and rain. There are also bank accessible areas around Cottonwood Canyon State Park, and smaller inflatables can work well when flows are low. ‌

Bass fishing is still an option, but fishing will likely be slow due to the cold temps




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OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Reports
for Wednesday, January 10th
Grande Ronde River: Anglers can have the best fishing by watching the forecast for warmer afternoon temperatures
Wallowa River: Steelhead fishing should pick up throughout the winter on the Wallowa River
East Lake: No recent fishing reports
Fall River: Fly-anglers continue to report productive and consistent winter fishing in the Fall River
Ochoco Reservoir: The reservoir is 34 percent full
Paulina Lake: Open to fishing all year
Prinevile Reservoir: Prineville Reservoir at 60 percent full
Crescent Lake: Crescent Lake is currently 10 percent full
North Fork Reservoir: Trout stocking will resume this spring in time for trout season, which opens May 22
Sandy River: Winter steelhead can currently be found throughout the system
Santiam River ( North Fork) : High flows are likely to persist into next week
Santiam River (South Fork): Currently flows are around 7,500 cfs at the Waterloo gauge as of Jan. 9
Ben Irving Reservoir: Ben Irving tens to get fairly muddy after lots of rain
Chetco River: Frequent storms have made for some tough fishing conditions
Diamond Lake: Diamond is starting to freeze over and likely is not fishable
Elk River: Elk River Fishing Report
Emigrant Reservoir: Emigrant is still at 14 percent full and filling very slowly
Fish Lake : Fish Lake is 50 percent full and trout fishing should continue to be good
Howard Prairie Reservoir: Howard Prairie is 35 percent full
Hyatt Lake: Hyatt is currently 41 percent full
Lemolo Lake: Heavy recent snow will likely limit access to the reservoir