Waters · United States
Cowlitz River (Castle Rock) fishing report
Updated Friday, 9 October 2026 · refreshed automatically through the day
The Cowlitz is a hatchery river by design: returns to the Barrier Dam facility drive the whole fishery, and the lower river at Castle Rock intercepts those fish on the way up.
Today's report: excellent (85/100)
Coho salmon is the most promising species on Cowlitz River (Castle Rock) today. Water temperature is around 12.1°C and barometric pressure is stable. Gauge COWLITZ RIVER AT CASTLE ROCK, WA shows the water level steady (0 cm/24h).
Cowlitz River (Castle Rock) water temperature and flow
- Discharge: 111.3 m³/s (3,931 cfs) — down 0% over 24 hours
- Level trend: steady
Measured at gauge COWLITZ RIVER AT CASTLE ROCK, WA · reading 66 min ago. Published by the national hydrological service, not estimated by us.
Best time to fish today
- 18:00–20:00 local time — score 87/100
- 07:00–09:00 local time — score 81/100
- 13:00–15:00 local time — score 80/100
3-day outlook by species
| Species | Friday 9 Oct | Saturday 10 Oct | Sunday 11 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steelhead | 72 — good | 74 — good | 73 — good |
| Chinook salmon | 83 — excellent | 85 — excellent | 83 — excellent |
| Coho salmon | 85 — excellent | 86 — excellent | 83 — excellent |
Why this score
Cast & Scan uses a deterministic, published scoring model — no black box. The strongest influences on today's Cowlitz River (Castle Rock) rating:
- water temperature: helping (+1)
- light: helping (+1)
- season: helping (+1)
- cloud cover: helping (+0.95)
- wind: helping (+0.9)
- precipitation: helping (+0.9)
Forecast computed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 23:36:25 GMT · data: Open-Meteo + gauge COWLITZ RIVER AT CASTLE ROCK, WA · refreshed automatically through the day · see our published accuracy
Wondering how this stacks up against the apps you already know? Cast & Scan vs Fishbrain vs BassForecast — an honest comparison, including where they beat us.
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Nearby waters
- Sandy River (Bull Run) — Oregon, USA (105 km away)
- Deschutes River (Sherars Falls) — Oregon, USA (184 km away)
- Yakima River (Union Gap) — Washington, USA (190 km away)
- John Day River (Lower) — Oregon, USA (208 km away)
- Wenatchee River (Monitor) — Washington, USA (233 km away)
- McKenzie River (Vida) — Oregon, USA (242 km away)