RoGUE RIVER Fly Fishing Report

Overview

Welcome to the Wild and Scenic Rogue River!

Swinging flies for steelhead practically started here on the Rogue with Zane Grey being one of the first to write about this magical place and fishery. Now the Rogue River Summer Steelhead Run is famous all over the world and for damn good reason! We catch Steelhead (and Trout) on the fly 365 days of the year here, with fresh fish moving through different parts of the river(s) at different times. This is our home water, and some of the best steelhead fishing in the World is found right here from July through DECEMBER. Winter steelhead season on the Rogue goes from January through April, with March and April being the peak months.

There are many other great fisheries in our region that should be explored at certain times of the year as well. The North Umpqua River from Roseburg to Soda Springs is the other world famous steelhead river in southwest Oregon, and once you see the scenery and experience the pull from these wild steelhead you will instantly know why! There are steelhead moving through the N Umpqua all year too, and they are some of the largest anywhere in the world. The South Umpqua offers great winter steelhead fishing from January through early April as well. we do quite a bit of our winter/spring guiding on the Umpquas, as the winter steelhead run on those rivers is one of the best in the world and 15 pounders aren't uncommon!

The Applegate River is a nearby tributary of the Rogue, and can be an amazing winter steelhead fishery until closing April 1st. After re-opening in late May it's a beautiful spot to fish for trout, camp, and explore (UPPER APPLEGATE RIVER and carberry creek ABOVE Applegate Lake as well). The Illinois River offers incredible fishing and scenery for big winter steelhead as well! Many of the famous Rogue "half pounders" spend their fall near the confluence of the Illinois and Rogue, so you can have a blast with a 3 or 4 weight switch down by Agness in October. In the winter the Illinois gets many of the biggest steelhead that swim through the Rogue River Watershed.

All the steelhead in our area are very healthy and strong fish, as they have been swimming up Class IV+ rapids and waterfalls for generations. Once you feel the grab and your reel starts singing your favorite song you will know why so many fly fishers have come here and never left!

Trout fishing in southern Oregon and northern California is also world class!

The "Holy Water" at the top of the Rogue is a great stretch of trout water, and especially popular during the Salmonfly hatch in late May and early June. Trout season on the entire Rogue opens on May 22nd, which is generally towards the beginning of the huge salmonfly hatch. Some of our best days are during this time of year, as we throw big dries all day, get tons of action, and catch plenty of fish! The Rogue has some big cutties as well as resident trout, smolt, and the occasional early summer steelhead that eats the big dry fly!

Upper Klamath Lake feeds the Klamath River, which has great trout fishing in the Oregon stretch. And with the announced removal of Iron Gate and other dams we will once again have steelhead swimming in the Oregon stretch of the Klamath River in the near future. Feeding into Upper Klamath Lake are the Williamson and Wood, with the Sprague River feeding into the Williamson at Chiloquin. These rivers are home to some of the largest trout on the West Coast, as some of them are descendents of steelhead that were trapped when the dams went in. The season here runs from the end of May through the end of October, and trout can be caught every way possible. During the warmer summer months the rainbows leave the shallow lake and reside in the cooler more oxygenated and bug infested waters of the spring fed rivers listed above, so make sure and bring a 6 weight with you and be ready for a 10 pounder on every cast! The Upper and Lower Sac, Pit, Fall, McCloud, etc are all great options for trout fishing nearby in Northern California as well.

ALEX’s current FISHING REPORT

(UPDATED 1/14/26)

ROGUE

We’ve gotten to that in between time here on the Rogue, with still mostly just summer steelhead in the upper and middle river. We’ve gotten some recent rains that will hopefully help push a few winter fish up, but it’s still a mix of winter and summer fish until February. This time of year we’re mostly driving towards the coast to get our winter steelhead chances. Chetco, Smith (CA), Elk, Sixes, Illinois, South & mainstem Umpquas are your best bets for getting your big chrome winter fish for the next little while.

If you are planning a winter steelhead trip in southern Oregon now is the time to start making your plans. We guide the Rogue and the Umpquas, with mid February through mid April being the peak season. Generally we get better numbers on the Rogue, but the Umpquas give you a much better chance at a true “steelhead of a lifetime” as we hook quite a few 15+ pounders up there.

If you haven’t come out with Rogue Valley Anglers’ guides you need to, as I guided for almost 20 years and know exactly who the best guides on the river are and won’t hire anyone else. My guides and I have floated the Rogue fly fishing thousands of days, and all caught/netted thousands of big trout and steelhead. This is our lives and passions and what we do every day of the year. We don’t work other jobs and dress up as fly fishing guides for part of the year like so many on this river. Every year I see more people guiding who just started fly fishing a couple years ago, got bought a boat, and have floated the river 20 times in their lives. I’ve even seen a couple guides running spey trips who don’t even own spey rods, much less know how to use them. Make sure you know exactly who your guide is and how long they have been religiously fly fishing if you truly want the best experience possible. Anyone who runs gear trips is not a fly fishing guide, although many will tell you they are because they “guide” fly fishing trips a couple times a year.

Holy Water has been fishing really well for some and a bit tougher for others, which might just depend on the time/day they went. Swinging sculpin imitations is always a great bet up there this time of year, along with nymphing and dry flies at times. Be on the lookout for BWO’s and other baetis or midge hatches in the afternoons to give you a chance at a big trout on a dry fly.

OTHER LOCAL FISHERIES

Winter steelhead are in all of our coastal rivers you just have to time it right and be ready to go on short notice. Dropping rivers are always good, but I also really like swinging coastal rivers when the rain first starts (especially if it’s a warm rain). You might only get the one good day and the river is blown out the next day, but the fish are always grabby when it’s raining (and the water temps are generally rising). The dropping and clearing rivers are good water clarity conditions, but lots of times it means it’s clear and cold at night so the water temps are lower. Chetco, Smith (CA), Elk, Sixes, South Umpqua and Illinois are all good choices in January, with the North Umpqua and Rogue getting going better in February.

As always give a call to the shop for any specific questions and the most up to date info, as we live and breathe fly fishing and always know what's going on down here in beautiful Southern Oregon!