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Home › Waters › Oregon › Owyhee River
Tailwater · Far eastern Oregon in Malheur County, running north from Owyhee Dam and Owyhee Reservoir through a basalt canyon past Nyssa to the Snake River near the Idaho line · Oregon

Owyhee River Fishing Guides

A remote high-desert tailwater below Owyhee Dam with an outsized reputation for very large wild brown trout, thick weed beds and difficult, technical fishing.

Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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About the Owyhee River

The Owyhee tailwater is a strange and famous piece of water. Below Owyhee Dam the river runs cold and green through a narrow basalt canyon in the emptiest corner of Oregon, and in about eleven miles of that canyon it grows brown trout that anglers drive across several states to fish. There is no town, no development and very little shade. What there is instead is a nutrient-rich constant-temperature release, deep weed growth, enormous insect biomass and browns that reach sizes a river this size has no business producing.

It fishes like a spring creek despite being a dam release. The water is slow, clear and weedy, the fish are educated, and drag-free presentation on long light leaders is the whole game. Midges matter year-round. There is a legendary blue-winged olive hatch in the shoulder seasons, and a summer evening caddis that can turn the canyon over. Streamer anglers work the undercut banks for the largest fish, often after dark. Most anglers wade; the canyon is narrow enough that a boat is more nuisance than help through much of it.

Two practical things govern trips here. The first is flow. Owyhee Dam is an irrigation project, and releases swing hard with the delivery season – low and fishable in the shoulder months, high and difficult through midsummer, and sometimes cut abruptly in the fall. This gauge sits directly below the dam and reports discharge and stage but no water temperature, so it tells you whether the canyon is fishable and nothing else. The second is remoteness. There is no cell service, no gas and no services in the canyon. Anglers carry water, fuel and a spare tire, because the nearest help is in Nyssa.

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Access

Owyhee Dam and the top of the canyon - the coldest water and the start of the tailwater reach.
The canyon road below the dam - continuous roadside pull-offs along the fishable eleven miles.
Snively Hot Springs - a well-known access point and the busiest parking on the river.
Greeley Bar and the lower canyon pull-outs - walk-in water toward the end of the trout reach.
Owyhee Reservoir boat ramps - still-water launching above the dam.
Nyssa and the lower river bridges - warmwater bass and catfish access below the canyon.
Rome and the upper Owyhee - the wilderness whitewater reach well above the reservoir.

Seasons

Spring: prime season, with low pre-irrigation flows, blue-winged olives and the best wading of the year.
Summer: high irrigation releases, difficult wading and an evening caddis and streamer game.
Fall: releases drop back, water clears and the big browns move onto the shallow tails to spawn.
Winter: cold, low, lightly fished midge water with road access that can be uncertain after snow.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Owyhee River?

As of Sep 8, 12:30 am, the USGS gauge OWYHEE RIVER BELOW OWYHEE DAM, OR reads 116 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Owyhee River?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass on the Owyhee River in Oregon.

Where can you access the Owyhee River?

Owyhee Dam and the top of the canyon - the coldest water and the start of the tailwater reach. The canyon road below the dam - continuous roadside pull-offs along the fishable eleven miles. Snively Hot Springs - a well-known access point and the busiest parking on the river. Greeley Bar and the lower canyon pull-outs - walk-in water toward the end of the trout reach. Owyhee Reservoir boat ramps - still-water launching above the dam. Nyssa and the lower river bridges - warmwater bass and catfish access below the canyon. Rome and the upper Owyhee - the wilderness whitewater reach well above the...

When is the best time to fish the Owyhee River?

Spring: prime season, with low pre-irrigation flows, blue-winged olives and the best wading of the year. Summer: high irrigation releases, difficult wading and an evening caddis and streamer game. Fall: releases drop back, water clears and the big browns move onto the shallow tails to spawn. Winter: cold, low, lightly fished midge water with road access that can be uncertain after snow.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Owyhee River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Oregon agency site: https://myodfw.com/fishing/regulations