The Owyhee River, below the dam from the Owyhee Reservoir, holds some nice Brown Trout and some decent Rainbow Trout! You can keep rainbows, but Reschke says most anglers practice pure catch and release fishing on the Owyhee, and that’s what keeps the fishery so good. A more adaptive management approach here would help ensure that efficient ranching remains a conservation tool and that resource managers can respond appropriately in real time to threats to the remarkable ecology of this region. I just got back from 3 days of fishing the Owyhee River in eastern Oregon with a fellow rod builder, Rick Robbins, from West Virginia. As the seasons transition and the days become slightly longer and warmer, insect activity increases and the fish take notice. ODFW weekly recreation report and regulation updates. 6 Nights of Riverside Camping. Jerry P with an Owyhee Brown Trout . The prime stretch for trout fishing on the Owyhee is above Snively Hot Springs up to the dam, a distance of about 10-12 miles through a canyon. Our beloved home river the Owyhee is host to thousands of Brown trout staging to spawn and give way to an entire generation of new fish. Fishing for the browns is strictly catch and release. Meanwhile, monstrous brown trout go airborne to take down flying insects so small you need a scanning electron microscope to figure out what they are. Rainbow trout are also common. © 2021 Trout Unlimited. Walk/Wade $500 per day 1-2 anglers 3rd person add $250.00. Photo provided by Fly Water Travel. Fish for smallmouth on this Wild & Scenic river. Midge nymphs are present all year. But mostly I just watched, while dusk settled onto the water, as the surface erupted with feeding trout. But mostly I just watched, while dusk settled onto the water, as the surface erupted with feeding trout. I did get a few takes and slashes, and landed a couple of small brown trout that punched well above their weight class. Privacy policy — Terms & conditions — Call us toll free: 1-800-834-2419. Sampling in September showed there are still plenty of large brown and rainbow trout available from 16 to 24 inches. River levels are dictated mostly by releases from the dam, not rain, so the Owyhee is much larger during the summer irrigation season than in spring. While bait-fishing is allowed under the regulations, Reschke believes the practice “is a terrible idea as it has a high fatality rate and you’ll catch both browns and rainbows.”. Owyhee River full day walk & wade for TROPHY brown trout! and others to enact legislation that better conserves fish and wildlife habitat, sustains recreational access, and supports science-based adaptive management of the Owyhee country. And he’s in his element on the Owyhee. For more information on Sportsmen for the Owyhee Canyonlands, and to learn how you can support this campaign, go to www.owyheesportsmen.org. “Like” us on Facebook. Posted on July 25, 2015 by Dave Dozer. Kyle is TU’s lead in a sportsmen-driven campaign to permanently protect habitat and sporting opportunity in the Canyonlands and when I caught up to him he was in front of a camera, working with a videographer to document some of the outstanding recreational values of the Owyhee Canyonlands region. Carter Reschke is a “downright obsessed” fly fisherman from Bend who fishes premier and lesser-known trout streams across Oregon, including long trips to the Owyhee. (Fun fact: salmon used to inhabit what is now the state of Nevada, and the Owyhee is a major reason why. And the night sky, so opulent in this area far from major urban areas, blazed overhead and bade me welcome to the river named after three native Hawaiian fur trappers, who disappeared there in 1819. But that morning, Kyle was multi-tasking. The evening before I met Kyle, I pulled into one of the many primitive staging and camping areas in the lower Owyhee canyon about an hour before dark. Book Wise; Protecting Your Trip; Terms & Conditions; News. Most the time you will find fish feeding up and down the river. But it’s dry, hot and largely treeless—a desert by most measures. Redband trout and other fish dwell in the upper Owyhee River, while elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and the one of the largest herds of California bighorn sheep in the nation reside in the rugged terrain around it. The Owyhee River runs through a scenic desert canyon and offers year round fly fishing for rainbow and brown trout. The Owyhee River’s brown trout fishing is so good this stream made our list of Best Fly Fishing Rivers in Oregon. Book Now. The 40-acre Ranch is 2 miles past Snively Hot Springs, about 9 miles before the Owyhee Dam. Saltwater Grand Slam . Fish average 18 inches here and they fight, so you need to be prepared with usually 4x leader, but 5x works well also. This photo shows a healthy brown trout, but browns have been dying in the Owyhee River this winter because of an infection caused by water mold. From July to September, grasshoppers are everywhere on the Owyhee, and hopper patterns are the way to go. I chose a 8′ 3″ 5 wt bamboo rod for most of my fishing. Reschke says that even though the river is open year-round, he avoids fishing the Owyhee from October through December so he doesn’t disturb the spawning brown trout. Rods; Reels; Lines; Leaders Tippets and Flies Generous Riverside Lunches; … This amazing trout stream springs from, and flows for many miles through, a desert. The Skwalas are good-sized stonefly type bugs, but smaller than salmon flies. The Oregon river's famed brown trout lure anglers from everywhere. Owyhee River, Oregon Tucked away in eastern Oregon, not far from Boise, Idaho, Oregon’s finest trophy brown trout river flows discreetly through desert rim rock and sage. Here, you will enjoy a unique, remote country experience right on the Owyhee River, recognized for its world-class brown trout fishing.If fishing isn’t for you, the Owyhee Canyonlands … I have never been over to the Owyhee and not found a pod of fish working the surface. Most of the rainbows are small, but the Owyhee is famous for its fat “football” rainbows. Otherwise, the best way to fish the river is to do so during a hiking or rafting trip. One place that can be reached by four-wheel-drive vehicle is Three Forks, where the North, Middle and Main forks of the Owyhee River merge. It is best done wading. Instead, focus your attention on riffles and runs with some current. All Single Day Trips include: Angler to Guide Ratio 2:1. They begin to look up again after a long, cold winter. Patterns are readily available, but come ready with a few common sizes because the hatching insects vary a bit. A dinner of cheese and crackers and a doze in the dirt awaited me. Daily discussion of all things trout, from how to catch them to how to protect and restore them. Owyhee River Fish Report for 2-11-2021. The Owyhee River’s brown trout fishing is so good this stream made our list of Best Fly Fishing Rivers in Oregon. Every few minutes a heavy splash revealed a large, active trout. Prime time is late March, often well-timed with Oregon’s spring break. Unfortunately, with the terrible weather through the end of 2015 most anglers fly rods have been locked away and fly boxes have been topped up ten times over. Enjoy the rugged beauty of this Eastern Oregon tailwater for it’s consistant 18-20″ brown trout. Early Season Alaska. Rainbow trout were introduced in the Owyhee River below the dam in the 1950s for recreational fishing. Reschke’s favorite is the Fat Albert (in tan) from the Big Y Fly Co. He says a 5- or 6-weight fly rod is appropriate with no lighter than 5x tippet. About Us. Grande Ronde Steelhead full day float and/or walk & wade. He’s a core member of the team supporting TU’s Wild Steelhead Initiative, and TU’s lead on legislative and policy initiatives that aim to better protect areas of intact habitat and coldwater headwaters on public lands. I cast wildly at anything and everything, while my lower legs began to emulate two waterlogged stumps. I release all the fish I catch from this river :-) In late September, the flows are really low, … The Owyhee river is the perhaps the finest brown trout fishery in North America. Most fish in these “still water” areas are small rainbows and browns, he says. “Browns will smash the hopper so be prepared!” he says. The Owyhee River is Oregon’s finest tailwaters. (see photos below) This is from our Owyhee River Guide: I guided a Dad and his two college age kids Sunday March 13 on a pretty crazy weather day. Fishing the Owyhee offers remarkable chances to catch large trout on 4-6 weight fly rods on dry flies. Owyhee Lake Road follows the river closely. The Owyhee River is a tail water fishery and home to one of the most incredible brown trout fisheries in North America. Most game fish in the lower Owyhee are introduced species. Owyhee River full day walk & wade for TROPHY brown trout! Remote and with few roads, this region’s complex geologic history has fashioned a unique landscape with many soil types and microhabitats. Fish average 17-21 inches, with larger fish not uncommon. I observed all of this recently, on a quick visit to the lower river canyon. The trout largely ignored my offering in favor of bugs I couldn’t see (I later found one, a trico mayfly, flexing its tiny thorax on my sleeve). Multiple times, gold-flanked browns at least two feet in length blasted out of the water in the run below me. One of the many attributes of this river is you can dry-fly, nymph, or streamer fish this river year round. I’ve had 50 fish days on this setup.”, ODFW trout stocking scheduleODFW weekly recreation report and regulation updatesODFW annual fishing regulationsNational Weather Service forecasts. Three Rivers Ranch is proud to offer Owyhee River Fly Fishing Trips. brown trout on a dry fly. by OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Staff 2-11-2021 Website. Even the largest brown trout, can be very active surface feeders. You will find newly scraped gravel areas, this is where the fish lay their eggs. Lots of big browns. Grande Ronde Steelhead 4 day float trip. Canyon was fogged in until 11:00 a.m and in the low 30’s but fish were up … Book Now. When the Skwalas are hatching and fish are aggressively feeding, it is not uncommon to have 40- or 50-fish days on the Owyhee, Reschke says. Brave the Elements. Tropical Fishing at its Best. Owyhee Wilderness 7 day for Smallmouth Bass . Frequent profiles of the diverse movers and shakers in the fishing world, from die-hard anglers to gear manufacturers to conservationists. There aren’t that many places left in the Lower 48 where you really can get off the radar, if only for a few hours of fishing or a long day of chasing chukar. “If they don’t hit the hopper, they’ll hit the dropper. Those areas are easy to find on the Owyhee, and if you don’t catch anything within 20 minutes, try somewhere else. In fact, they’re not native to any river in the state. Owyhee River Brown Trout . The lower Owyhee River below the Owyhee Reservoir is a beautiful trout stream located in the golden hills of Eastern Oregon. The thing that strikes me most about the Owyhee River is the incongruity. The bad news is the high bug count on the water will demand a natural drift from the fly fisher. We have been there a few times now and we are never disappointed. It is a relatively small river but its’ honey-colored browns are anything but small, averaging 16 to … Fishing has been good recently and anglers have reported catching some very large rainbow trout. In the prime fishing season—mid to late summer and fall—it may well be 100 degrees in the shade while you are fishing the lower river. The river is perfect for taking in vast desert landscapes with steep-walled canyons and a very prolific river chock full of massive brown trout! Book Now. Just 1 hour from Boise, Idaho, over the border into Oregon, the Owyhee is a magnificent tailwater … There’s nothing like getting a trout … TU, through Kyle, is leading a coalition of sportsmen’s groups, including TRCP, BHA, Oregon Hunters Association, the Oregon Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep. You really have to commit to a fly fishing road trip, unless you own a plane or know someone that does. Multiple times, gold-flanked browns at least two feet in length blasted out of the water in the run below me. The cool tailwater section ten miles below the Owyhee Reservoir is a dry fly fisher's paradise. Also, the trout are coming off a long winter, so they will be skinnier in March than later in the year, but they are ready to gorge on insects. You can fish much of the river, but the five miles of tailwater below Owyhee Dam—completed in 1932 to deliver irrigation water and modified later to generate electricity—is now one of the most heralded and accessible trout streams in the West. Being a tail water, the constant flow and temperature create a prime feeding habitat for growing BIG trout. This is a river where you can go and catch an above average brown trout on a dry-fly year round. It’s about a 7-hour drive from Portland, and you’ll probably see as many anglers from Boise and Caldwell as from Oregon. Owyhee River Report Owyhee River. The Owyhee River, north of the Owyhee Dam in Eastern Oregon, has been described as a fly fisherman's dream. The Owyhee is a major tributary to the lower Snake River , and before the construction of Owyhee Dam, 30-lb chinook salmon swam up the Owyhee to spawn in tiny tributaries winding through the sagebrush, including the river’s south fork. If you don’t see any of the big bugs and the fish aren’t hitting them, switch to size 20 zebra midge or pheasant tail nymph patterns. You don't need a drift boat to fish this small stream. Walk/Wade $500 per day 1-2 anglers 3rd person add $250.00. Canyon was fogged in until 11:00 a.m and in the low 30’s but fish were up on … Our Mission; Meet Our Team; Contact Us; Travel Resources. Steelhead Fishing On The Grande Ronde. Owyhee Brown Trout Time! Kangia Greenland. Fishing here is allowed all year, but certain seasons stand out. Winter Steelhead. Current News; Early Season Alaska. We should keep it that way. Kyle is a throwback as a sportsman, the type who does it all and makes everything look easy: casting, wading tough water, finding and landing steelhead, and bagging deer, turkey and especially chukar in their seasons. The lower Owyhee is nearly to the Idaho border. See the paper below, authored by TU’s former science director Jack Williams, for a fascinating analysis of this natural history.). Please be careful if you choose to fish, not to disturb the redds. The Owyhee Canyonlands has been identified by the U.S. The Owyhee Canyonlands represent one of the largest remaining expanses of intact, high-quality sagebrush steppe habitat in the West. The cool tailwater section ten miles below the Owyhee Reservoir is a dry fly fisher’s paradise. Don’t miss Northwest fishing news! Skeena River … At this time of year, the Owyhee is a small stream as much of its water flow is being stored in the reservoir. Early Fall Fly Fishing At Its Best. Posted on April 9, 2011 by marcwigfield. I quickly rigged up and wandered about 20 steps to where the stream purled around boulders into a long, delicious run. This premier brown trout fishery provides some of the best opportunities to fish dry flies, streamers and nymphs to some very large (Trophy) fish.The Owyhee River is a fairly small river and limited to walk and wade. A typical brown trout on the lower Owyhee River. Grande Ronde Steelhead 3 day float trip. Owyhee river is recognized for its world- class brown trout fishing and abundant rainbow trout. Photo Essay by Josh Hutchins. Find Owyhee River trout j ust 50 miles from Boise, Idaho, the Owyhee River draws fly fishing anglers from all corners of the world. (see photos below) This is from our Owyhee River Guide: I guided a Dad and his two college age kids Sunday March 13 on a pretty crazy weather day. The first hatches start by mid-March and can continue into early April. Took a day out on a favorite river of mine slamming brown trout. Owyhee River (Trout) October is a fabulous month for catching brown trout — the trophy species the Owyhee River in eastern Oregon is known for. He says most anglers use hopper/dropper setups with a black or red zebra midge about 18 inches under the hopper. The Owyhee offers year-round (catch and release) fly fishing and is most widely recognized for its world-class brown trout fishing. The surface dimpled here and there with noses. It always surprises me how many people plan their vacations or long weekends around the hatches on the Owyhee River.