Tailwater · Mixed · Northern California, US

Feather River

The Feather River flowing through a forested canyon near Oroville, California

Regulated tailwater below Oroville Dam, and the Low Flow Channel below the Feather River Hatchery is the reach everyone means when they talk steelhead here.

Tomorrow · Not the day for it
Pheasant Tail
Forecast · Tomorrow
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail
Pheasant Tail
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather21°C
WindN 19 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead2.7 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Steelhead
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Steelhead
When
Autumn egg bite behind spawning salmon, into winter steelhead
Where
Regulated tailwater below Oroville Dam, and the Low Flow Channel below the Feather River Hatchery is the reach everyone means when they talk steelhead here.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Western Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 52%
Peak emergence window5 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Western Blue-Winged Olive (Western Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2
TricoHatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Steelhead fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • CDFW barbless / wild-release and seasonal rules
  • ESA-listed spring-run Chinook: do not target; release unharmed.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Butte Creek
34 km
Chinook salmon · Steelhead · Rainbow trout
Lower Yuba River
40 km
Rainbow trout
North Fork Feather River
44 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Bucks Lake
50 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
North Fork Yuba River
58 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The Feather River flowing through a forested canyon near Oroville, California
    The Feather River, Butte County, California
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Regulated tailwater below Oroville Dam, and the Low Flow Channel below the Feather River Hatchery is the reach everyone means when they talk steelhead here. It carries ESA-listed Central Valley spring-run Chinook and steelhead right alongside the hatchery fish, so the listed ones get named and let be. The classic autumn play is indicator nymphing and egg patterns behind the spawning salmon, and that rolls into winter steelhead. Flow is run by California DWR, not the Bureau, so the river dances to that tune.

  • Mixed
Conservation note

ESA-listed Central Valley spring-run Chinook and steelhead are here. We surface their presence, their run-timing and the water conditions, and stop there — no catch score on listed fish, and nothing that reads like a hunting tip. They earn the river's protection by being what they are.

Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
  • Fish consumption: Impaired
What this classification means

Fish consumption: Consumption advisory (Mercury) — fish for sport, not the table.

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Feather River, Lower (Lake Oroville Dam to Confluence with Sacramento River)' (CAR5192200019980817161057), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Mercury, Total Toxics, Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBs. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · CAR5192200019980817161057

Why this score · for Steelhead
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time4013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity6312% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts