Freestone · Glacial · Washington

Hoh River

River Livet venue image
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The Hoh is the headline river of the Olympic Peninsula's rainforest coast, and standing in for a whole system of them — the Bogachiel, Sol Duc, Calawah and Queets among its neighbors.

Species

A proper day on the water

Low and clear — careful approach country. Stay small, stay accurate.

75% confidence in this read
Water temperature for steelhead
Ideal
8°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for steelhead
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity3812% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
8.3°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
15°C
Wind
SW 13 km/h
Gentle breeze
Pressure
1019 hPa
Rain · 48h
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain
Rain · ahead
10.9 mm
Moderate rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for steelhead
When
December–April, on the drop after high water as clarity returns. Avoid the peak flood and the low-clear extremes.
Where
The Hoh is the headline river of the Olympic Peninsula's rainforest coast, and standing in for a whole system of them — the Bogachiel, Sol Duc, Calawah and…
Why this works
Good — water temperature is working for you, but insect activity is the limiting factor today.
Through the year
0–3 scale · June 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
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2

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

Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • WDFW coastal steelhead rules (2025-26 permanent set): release wild steelhead/rainbow/cutthroat, no removal of wild steelhead from water, 2 hatchery/day, ~Dec 1–Mar 31
  • Frequent emergency changes; tribal co-management
  • Verify before every trip.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

The Hoh is the headline river of the Olympic Peninsula's rainforest coast, and standing in for a whole system of them — the Bogachiel, Sol Duc, Calawah and Queets among its neighbors. This is wild winter steelhead country: big, cold, rain-fed rivers running out of the Olympics through some of the wettest forest in the country, holding some of the last strong runs of native winter fish in the lower 48. It is also the most regulation-sensitive water in this whole pack. The fishing is dictated by the weather: the river blows out on every serious storm, and the prize window is the drop, when the hydrograph falls and the glacial-gray water clears back to a fishable green. Too high and it's unsafe and unfishable; too low and clear and the fish see everything. You swing big intruders and tube flies on heavy tips, or fish them down and across through the soft inside seams, and you earn every grab. The rules here change often, emergency closures are routine, and the rivers are co-managed with the treaty tribes — so the honest first question isn't 'is it fishing,' it's 'is it open, and is it green.' Check the regulations and the gauge in that order.

  • Glacial
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Other water nearby · 3