Fishing Season: Year Round

Feather River - CA

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

60

Joe Garza's Tip of the Week

Single hand swing and Spey have been very productive. Fry patterns and soft hackles have been most productive. I learned a hard lesson this week! Don't strip set when swinging for steelhead. Instead wait a brief second then lift your rod tip and fight the fish. On the swing they essential hook themselves.

Directions open in app

Map of Feather River

Water Flow Data

Tidal Conditions

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

J.A.G. Fly Fishing

5-Day Outlook as of 3/29/26

Spring is officially here and so are our Spring run Steelhead. Now's the time to get out, to hook that Spring Steelhead. Fishing this last week has been excellent, with 8 to 12 fish to the net per outing. All methods have been productive, with swinging being a standout technique this week. We hooked a few larger fish Tightlining also. #10 Fry patterns and #12 caddis for swinging, and #14 caddis and #14 March Browns have been productive tightlining and under an indicator.

Techniques & Tips as of 3/29/26

Single Hand Swing, Spey/Switch, Tight Line/High Stick Nymphing, Indicator Nymphing, Dry Fly.

Local Species Available Year Round

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    Steelhead

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    Striper

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    Salmon

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    Shad

Joe Garza's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
Shaky Worm Red 12
Hickey's Tungsten Bead Auto Emerger N/A 18
Higa's S.O.S. Olive, Black 18
Meg A Egg Sucking Leech Pink, Orange 8
Fox Poopah Cinnamon 12, 14
E.C. Caddis Tan, Olive 12, 14
Vitso's Psycho Spawn Chartreuse, Pink 14
Prince Nymph N/A 14, 16
Hale Bopp Leech Olive, Black 8
Sac Fry N/A 12, 14

Shaky Worm

This trout fishing worm pattern will make you a believer.

2.49

Item #0K7T

Buy Now

Joe Garza's Recommended Gear

Description: About Feather River

This tailwater fishery flows out of Oroville Dam, the tallest earthen dam in the country. The river is best known for its Steelhead and Salmon fishing. Holding both hatchery and wild Steelhead/Salmon, there are also opportunities for Striped Bass or Shad during certain times of the year. Just below the dam, water is diverted to the Forebay and Thermalito Afterbay for water storage, hydro-electric power, and flood control for the local area. This causes the Lower Feather River to be broken into two different sections, known as the low-flow area and the high-flow area. The low flow starts at the Feather River hatchery and ends approximately 5.5 miles downstream at the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet. The high flow starts at the Afterbay outlet and ends approximately 8.5 miles downstream at the Gridley boat launch. With 14 miles of river to fish, there are many options for both drift boat trips and walk and wade trips. The Lower Feather River offers a variety of methods to search for hard-fighting steelhead throughout the year. Those methods include indicator nymphing, tight line/high stick nymphing, single hand swing, and spey/switch. The best times to fish for Steelhead on the Lower Feather River is during the Fall run (September through December), and the Spring run (February through May).

Nearest Airport:

Sacramento International Airport

Hatches:

Little Yellow Stones, Caddis, Worms, Baetis, Chironomids, PMD's, Fry.

Best Time to Fish:

7am to 1pm

Best Stretch:

High Flow

Best Access:

Charlies Hole