The river is open to trout fishing. Only hatchery trout may be retained, 2 per day. All wild rainbow trout and cutthroat trout should be immediately released unharmed. With warm temperatures on tap especially from Murphy downstream, anglers are encouraged to fish early and with barbless hooks. Temperatures in the Murphy Area can approach 70 degrees. Anglers are also encouraged to catch and remove non-local pikeminnow. Areas such as Fish Hatchery County Park have lots of pikeminnow. 

There is good bank access around the Hwy 199 bridge, Fish Hatchery Park, Cantrall Buckley Park, upstream of Murphy, and near McKee Bridge. There are also scatterings of BLM lands in the upper river around McKee Bridge. In-flows to Applegate Lake have dropped significantly, and outflow from the dam has had to be reduced to 174 cfs to conserve reservoir storage. You can check the flows on the Applegate when planning a trip.