Feather River (Salmon, Steelhead & Shad)
Oroville / Yuba City · near Oroville / Yuba City · Gold Country & Central Valley
Fishing · Rivers & Whitewater
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Salmon fall · steelhead winter · shad May–June · stripers spring
- Season
- Summer weekends (scheduled recreation releases) · Section-dependent
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+) required; Steelhead Report Card for steelhead. The Feather below Oroville Dam is a major salmon/steelhead river with a famous spring shad run. Bank and drift-boat access; the low-flow section has special regs.
- Permit
- PG&E dam-controlled with scheduled summer recreation releases on certain stretches. Flows vary by section; check the release schedule. The canyon parallels Hwy 70, giving unusually good access.
What is here
- Features
- Major fall king salmon run · Winter steelhead · Famous spring shad blitz · Bank & drift-boat access
- Activities
- guided-rafting · kayaking · self-guided
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Minimum age
- Varies by section and flow
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Outfitters
- Local NorCal outfitters + self-guided
Fishing detail
- Water type
- river
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Drift · Fly · Bait · Casting
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- King salmon (fall run) · Steelhead · American shad (spring) · Striped bass (lower)
- Intl tip
- License required (Steelhead Report Card for steelhead). Fall salmon, winter steelhead, and the fabulous May–June shad run (small darts/flies, nonstop action) are the highlights. Bank and drift-boat access; the low-flow section has special trout regs. Combine with Oroville and gold country. Great shad intro for beginners.
Rivers & Whitewater detail
- Nickname
- The Scenic Byway Run
- Class min
- II
- Class max
- IV
- Trip options
- Day runs (Rock Creek, Tobin, and other dam-release stretches)
- Key rapids
- Tobin / Rock Creek stretches
- Intl tip
- Highway 70 through the Feather River Canyon is one of California's most underrated drives. Quincy (Mt. Hough MTB in the MTB guide) is up the road, and the Rock Creek waterslide swimming hole (swimming guide) is right here — a full Plumas County water weekend.
The guide
The Feather River below Oroville Dam is one of the Central Valley's great anadromous fisheries — a river that comes alive with …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Feather River (Salmon, Steelhead & Shad) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.34, -121.62