Grande Ronde Fishing Report: 12/21/24
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Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Summer Run Steelhead (native and
hatchery)
Rainbow trout
Smallmouth Bass
Size
Medium
Location
Southeastern Washington
Nearest Towns
Clarkston
Anatone
Season
Lower River Catch and Release Only)
Fishing season open June 1-April 30
Access:
Good but some of the river is
roadless
Non-Resident License
State of Washington
Weather
National Weather Service Link
USGS Real-time Stream Data: Troy
Oregon
Seasons:
Spring:
Fly fishing the Grande Ronde River continues into April.
Summer:
Fish can be caught as early as June but the best steelhead fishing starts in September. Smallmouth bass fishing is great in the Summer months
Fall:
October and November continues the great steelhead fishing.
Winter:
Fish are in the river all Winter. Fishing depends greatly
on the weather and accessibility.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
For Steelhead and Salmon
Fly Line:
7, 8 , 9 or 10 weight for appropriate typerod, sinking, sinking tip and floating
Leaders:
10#, 12# in 9 to 15 feet lengths
Tippets:
10# and 12#
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly 7, 8, 9 and 10 ft. single hand rods
Fly Reels:
For 7 to 10 weight lines
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
KISS Strike Indicators, Lanyards, etc.
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Perfect Fly Power Pack Spey Rod Series: Click Here for full description
$225.00
Steelhead & Salmon Fly Selections
Fly Fishing The Grande Ronde River Washington
The Grande Ronde River begins in the Blue Mountains of Oregon and flows for about thirty miles into the Snake River in the Southeastern corner of Washington. Fly fishing the Grande Ronde River is a very unique experience. Most all the Washington section of the river flows through a rugged wilderness canyon area.
Steelhead begin entering the Grande Ronde River as early as October. The exact timing and numbers of steelhead that enter the river from the Snake River depends on the water level and temperature. The best steelhead fishing usually doesn’t begin until late October or early November.
The Grande Ronde River flows along a valley that’s far below the top of the rock canyon walls that surround it. The river has a rock bottom that’s very slick. The stream can be divided into three sections. The uppermost two can be reached by descending down into to a deep canyon and the lower section from roads that provide easy access.
The upper section in Washington is called Bogans Oasis: You access this section by going down a steep mountain road called Rattle Snake Grade. This section fishes best in the early part of Spring. Steelhead hatcheries are located upstream in Oregon. There’s a take out about 10 miles downstream at Shoemakers Grade.
Shoemakers Grade can be reached by gravel roads from Anatone. This is anther steep dropoff from the canyon rim and one that can be very slick after a rain. This section has a road that parallels the river for several miles. I’s a very popular section of the river for good reasons. There are usually a lot of fish caught here. The lower end of this section flows through a very narrow canyon with class 5 rapids called the Narrows. We suggest you only pass through this section with an experienced guide or by portage around the area.
The lower section is only about 4 miles long before it enters the Snake River at Hellers Bar. It can be accessed from both sides of the river by road. Needless to say, this is a popular section to fish.
Fishing Reports:
04/25/21 The river levels are down and there are steelhead in the river. We didn’t receive any reports from anyone the past week.
05/17/21 The river is closed to fishing until June 1st.
06/02/21 The season opened yesterday and with okay steam levels. Smallmouth bass are being caught. https://perfectflystore.com/product-category/flies/perfect-fly-other-freshwater-flies/bass/
06/16/21 There are rainbow trout being caught.
07/15/21 The stream is very low but decent numbers of trout are being caught. They still eat in low water.
07/28/21 The stream levels are still low but we continue to get a few good reports from customers fishing for trout. There are good hatches.
08/27/21 The river is still low but we continue to get regular good reports from customers. Fish still eat in low water. There are some good hatches taking place.
09/29/21 The stream is still low but up some this past week thanks to some rain. We are still getting some good reports on trout.
10/27/21 Stream levels are up to normal and the river in good shape. Steelhead are in the river below Troy and we are getting some good catch reports.
11/03/21 Stream levels are just a little below normal and the river in good shape. We are getting more good steelhead reports.
11/11/21 The stream is flowing very near a normal level and clear. We continue to get good steelhead reports from customers.
11/21/21 More good reports from customers fishing for steelhead have come in the past few days. Swinging our steelhead streamers and nymphing using our steelhead nymphs are both working.
11/29/21 The stream levels are at a normal level and the river in good shape. We are getting very good reports from customers.
12/07/21 Steelhead are being caught by our customers. The river levels are fine.
12/14/21 Stream level are still in good shape and we continue to get good reports from customers catching steelhead.
12/23/21 Stream levels are at a normal level and in good shape. We continue to get some good reports from customers fishing for steelhead.
12/31/21 We received one good report this past week. Stream levels are okay.
01/08/22 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone this past week. The stream is cold but in good shape otherwise.
01/16/22 We did receive one good report from a customer catching steelhead this past week. The stream is in good shape.
01/24/22 We didn’t get any reports from anyone fishing this past week. Conditions appear to be okay except the water is cold.
02/06/22 We received one good report from an anglers fishing for steelhead this past week. Conditions are okay. Few are fishing.
02/22/22 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing the river this past week. Conditions are still okay. Let us hear from you.
03/02/22 Still no reports from anyone came in the past week.
03/18/22 We received reports of rainbows and steelhead being caught this past week. Conditions are pretty good. Skwala stoneflies are hatching along with other insects.
04/29/22 The river is flowing a good bit below normal level but still okay. Trout are being caught and there are good hatches taking place.
05/23/22 Trout are being caught in decent numbers by our customers. There are good hatches taking place and dry fly fishing is getting good Send us an email and we will send you a list of recommended flies.
06/08/22 Stream levels are back up a little too high to wade. We were getting good reports from customers fishing for trout and it should be good again as soon as the stream levels subside.
06/15/22 Stream levels are still far too high for fly fishing opportunity. Give it some more time to drop and clear.
0707/22 Stream levels are still too high to wade and rough on one fishing from a driftboat. We recommend choosing a different stream until the levels drop back down.
07/21/22 The stream is okay and we are getting good reports from customers fishing for trout. Good hatches are taking place.
09/10/22 The stream levels are still low but we continue to get a few good reports from customers fishing for trout. There are good late summer hatches taking place.
11/01/22 Steelhead are in the river below Troy and we have been getting some good catch reports.
11/17/22 We received a couple of good reports on steelhead. This should bet good very soon. Trout are also being caught in some sections.
01/03/23 Stream levels and discharges are still above normal, but are falling. The higher volume should have brought in more fish and good winter hatches continue.
02/09/23 Trout are being caught when the stream levels are okay. The water is cold and you need to use our size 22 cream midges or light green midges rigged with the larva and pupa in tandem.
03/11/23 The stream is still turning out some trout for our customers. Skwala stoneflies are hatching along with cream and light green midges.
04/05/23 We continue to get good reports from customers catching trout. Good hatches are taking place.
04/28/23 Good hatches are taking place. We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week.
06/12/23 The stream is turning out some nice catches of trout for our customers. Good hatches are taking place.
06/20/23 The conditions remain very good. There are good hatches taking place and the water levels are fine.
06/29/23 We are getting good reports from customers fishing for trout. Very good hatches are taking place.
Click Here to see our Steelhead Flies: Click Here to see our Salmon Flies.
07/10/23 The stream is turning out good catches of trout thanks to a lot of hatching insects.
07/17/23 The stream is flowing well below normal level and clear. Good hatches are taking place. We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week.
07/25/23 We received another good report from a customer fishing for trout.
08/07/23 The stream is turning out a few trout. It should improve when it rains as the water levels are low. There are good hatches taking place.
08/17/23 The stream is still low. Good hatches continue to come off. We didn’t receive any reports this past week.
08/24/23 Low water levels still exist but we did receive one good report from a customer fishing for trout.
08/31/23 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone this past week but trout fishing should still be good.
09/07/23 Low water levels is making it tough but a few trout are being caught.
09/28/23 Water levels are still low but we did received a good report from a customer fishing for trout this past week.
10/05/23 Conditions remain about the same. Low water levels.
10/14/23 The stream is up to a normal level and lightly stained. You should be able to catch good numbers of trout.
10/27/23 We continue to get good reports on trout. Good hatches continue to come off.
11/12/23 The stream has been high and stained but down now and mostly clear. Steelhead are being caught and this should continue.
11/19/23 We received another good report from a customer fishing for steelhead.
11/30/23 Two more good reports came in from customer catching steelhead. Our Estaz flies, Hexigenia nymphs and Egg sucking leeches are working.
12/04/23 Stream levels are a little above normal now but should be falling. We are getting good reports when the stream levels are okay.
01/08/24 The stream is flowing near a normal level and clear. We have received one good report.
01/17/24 The stream is flowing a little below normal. Colder weather seemed to have slowed the action some but it should stabilize.
2/18/24 Trout are being caught when the stream levels are okay. Use our size 22 cream midges or light green midges rigged with the larva and pupa in tandem and you should catch plenty.
02/25/24 Conditions remain pretty good. You should be able to catch trout.
03/04/24 The stream is little high and dirty but we still received one good report from an angler fishing for trout.
03/11/24 The stream is still high and dingy. We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing it this past week.
03/18/24 The stream is flowing barely above a normal level and mostly clear. You should be able to catch steelhead but we didn’t receive any reports.
04/08/24 Sorry for the missed reports. The stream is turning out some steelhead. Stream levels have been high.
04/23/24 The stream is still turning out a few steelhead and trout fishing should be getting good soon. Some hatches are already taking place.
05/13/24 The stream is flowing at a normal level and clear. There are good hatches coming off and we getting good catch reports from customers.
05/28/24 We continue to get good catch reports from customers fishing for trout. Good hatches continue to take place.
06/10/24 We received a good report from a customer fishing yesterday. Good hatches are taking place and dry fly fishing it good.
06/17/24 Conditions remain good. The stream is a little below normal level and clear. Good hatches continue to take place and our terrestrial patterns are also working.
06/24/24 The stream is still turning out good catches of trout thanks to very good hatches taking place. We received two good reports from customers fishing it this past week.
07/01/24 Conditions remain good. We received another good report from a customer fishing for trout.
07/08/24 We are still getting good catch reports from customers fishing for trout. Good hatches are taking place.
07/17/24 We are still getting a few good reports from customers. Good hatches are taking place including Pale Morning duns, Spotted sedge caddis, Little sister caddis, Tricos, Little Yellow stoneflies and other insects.
07/23/24 Good conditions still exist and we continue to get good catch reports from customers.
08/01/24 More good reports from customers have come in and from various sections of the river. Trout fishing is very good now.
08/08/24 Stream levels are low and you will need to use caution to stay hidden from the trout to catch them. Good hatches continue to take place.
08/19/24 Good conditions exist. The stream is mostly clear with good late season hatches taking place. We received a good report from a customer fishing yesterday.
08/29/24 We are still getting a few good reports from customers fishing for trout. Good late season hatches are taking place.
09/03/24 A reminder to get your gear and flies ready for the upcoming steelhead season. They enter the river from the Snake River the first part of October.
09/11/24 Conditions are pretty good. Better get your flies and gear together.
09/17/24 Steelhead start coming into the river in October. Now is the time to get ready for the new season. Trout are still being caught by our customers.
09/30/24 Salmon and steelhead have started to come into the river and move upstream. You should be able to catch some soon, if not already.
10/08/24 The stream has okay numbers of salmon and some steelhead in it. We received one good report from a customer catching salmon.
10/17/24 We received two more good reports from customers fishing for Coho salmon. Our steelhead and salmon nymphs work best for them.
10/25/24 The increased water level from recent rain should bring a lot more fish into the river including more steelhead and salmon. We are still getting good reports from customers fishing for Coho.
11/01/24 We received two good reports from customers fishing for Coho this past week.
11/08/24 Conditions remain good. We are getting more good catch report from customers fishing for Coho.
11/17/24 We received some more catch reports from customers fishing for Coho.
11/24/24 The stream is turning out good catches of Coho for our customers. Both swinging and nymphing methods are working.
11/30/24 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing this past week. Coho are still in the river in good numbers.
12/21/24 We received two good reports from customers fishing for steelhead this past week.
Perfect Flies are designed and tied to to imitate and behave like the natural foods fish rely on to survive as much as possible. The more your fly looks like and moves through and on the surface of the water like the real things, the higher your odds of success.
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh