Tailwater · Mixed · Northern California

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.

Prime · Steelhead
Glo Bug · 14–16
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelDry recentlyNo gauge reading
  • Water temp10.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Glo Bug
Glo Bug14–16
Search the runs and pockets, dead-drift near the bottom.
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp10.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather23°C
WindSE 13 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

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

Water temperature for Steelhead
Ideal
10°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 — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July 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 Time7013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity6512% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts