West Coast
John Day River
Live Conditions
John Day River — John Day at McDonald Ferry
7-Day Flow
→ Stable
24-Hr Pressure
29.68 inHg · → High/stable
Local Weather
Normal conditions
Today
☁️Overcast
71° / 47°
Tomorrow
☁️Overcast
65° / 41°
Mon
☁️Overcast
69° / 48°
Tue
☁️Overcast
68° / 50°
Cold front incoming — go deep with nymphs, surface activity likely slow.
Weather by Open-Meteo · No API key · Updated every 30 min
What should I fish today?
⚡ AIAI-powered recommendation using today's live flow, temperature, and hatch data.
6.8
Time of Day
Using: 190 CFS · 54°F · OCTOBER CADDIS
What should I pack?
Rod, flies, tippet, and safety gear specific to today's John Day River conditions.
🪰 Hatch Calendar
John Day River · October · Fall
🟢 Active now at 54°F water
🟡 Approaching — within 5°F of trigger range
Select month
OCTOBER CADDIS (size 8). STEELHEAD in lower river. BWOs strong. Best fall floating month.
🟢 Active · 🟡 Approaching · ⚪ Seasonal only
River Map
About John Day River
Longest free-flowing river in Oregon — wild redband rainbows in a remote high desert canyon, with minimal angling pressure. Most quality water is reached by float trip; the John Day is a multi-day backcountry river with a strong summer steelhead run on the lower river.
Regulations
Wild fish release encouraged. Remote access — most water reached by float trip. Check ODFW for current steelhead seasons.
Learn More
Guides to help you fish John Day River with more confidence.
Oregon Fishing Regulations for Fly Anglers
Licenses, the Combined Angling Tag for steelhead and salmon, the wild fish release rule (intact adipose = wild = release), federally protected Bull…
Trout Species of Oregon
Oregon's iconic Deschutes redsides, the world-famous summer steelhead of the North Umpqua and Rogue, native coastal cutthroat (resident and sea-run),…
Deschutes River Guide: Oregon's Desert Trout and Steelhead River
The lower Deschutes canyon holds hard-fighting native redside rainbows and one of Oregon's best summer steelhead runs. How to approach this high…