Waters · United States
John Day River (Lower) fishing report
Updated Friday, 9 October 2026 · refreshed automatically through the day
The longest undammed tributary of the Columbia: desert canyon water that is smallmouth heaven from May to July, then too warm to fish ethically until the autumn steelhead push.
Today's report: good (71/100)
Smallmouth Bass is the most promising species on John Day River (Lower) today. Water temperature at the gauge is 17.5°C (64°F) and barometric pressure is stable. Gauge JOHN DAY RIVER AT MCDONALD FERRY, OR shows the water level rising (0 cm/24h).
John Day River (Lower) water temperature and flow
- Water temperature: 17.5°C (64°F)
- Discharge: 4.8 m³/s (170 cfs) — up 3% over 24 hours
- Level trend: rising (0 cm/24h)
Measured at gauge JOHN DAY RIVER AT MCDONALD FERRY, OR · reading 36 min ago. Published by the national hydrological service, not estimated by us.
Best time to fish today
- 06:00–08:00 local time — score 73/100
- 11:00–13:00 local time — score 66/100
- 18:00–20:00 local time — score 69/100
3-day outlook by species
| Species | Friday 9 Oct | Saturday 10 Oct | Sunday 11 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth Bass | 71 — good | 73 — good | 72 — good |
| Steelhead | 65 — good | 73 — good | 74 — good |
Why this score
Cast & Scan uses a deterministic, published scoring model — no black box. The strongest influences on today's John Day River (Lower) rating:
- wind: helping (+1)
- season: helping (+0.95)
- river flow: helping (+0.9)
- precipitation: helping (+0.84)
- pressure trend: helping (+0.8)
- cloud cover: helping (+0.8)
Forecast computed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:21:24 GMT · data: Open-Meteo + gauge JOHN DAY RIVER AT MCDONALD FERRY, OR · 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.
Read before you go
- The best time to fish for bass
- How river flow trend changes the bite
- Barometric pressure and fishing, explained
More smallmouth bass waters
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- French Broad River (Asheville) — North Carolina, USA
Nearby waters
- Deschutes River (Sherars Falls) — Oregon, USA (61 km away)
- Yakima River (Union Gap) — Washington, USA (105 km away)
- Sandy River (Bull Run) — Oregon, USA (144 km away)
- Cowlitz River (Castle Rock) — Washington, USA (208 km away)
- Wenatchee River (Monitor) — Washington, USA (213 km away)
- McKenzie River (Vida) — Oregon, USA (230 km away)