Winter steelhead in the Applegate run later than most streams. Reports are that they are definitely in the middle and lower river, and starting to trickle into the upper river above the town of Applegate.

The Applegate River is open to trout and steelhead fishing through March 31. Only hatchery rainbow trout and hatchery steelhead may be retained. All wild steelhead, and wild trout (rainbow and cutthroat) must be released.

Releases from the dam are 203 cfs. Near the town of Applegate, the gage is reading approximately 382 cfs and 1.99 feet on Wednesday morning. Wilderville gage is was 833cfs and 3.13 feet.  Snowmelt and rain in the forecast for Friday is forecast to bring the river up over the weekend. You can check current Applegate River conditions on the USGS WaterWatch website, here or the US Army Corps teacup diagram, here.

Most river users tend to use a small pontoon boat as their preferred method for navigating the Applegate. Flows from 600 to 1000 cfs at the Wilderville gage is ideal conditions for floating.

The river temperature is 44 degrees coming out of the Dam and flow rate is 209 cfs.