Deschutes River
The best month to fish the Deschutes River is October. The month to avoid is February. Right now, in August, it is worth going.
- January: 77 out of 100
- February: 68 out of 100
- March: 83 out of 100
- April: 87 out of 100
- May: 98 out of 100
- June: 71 out of 100
- July: 71 out of 100
- August: 71 out of 100
- September: 71 out of 100
- October: 99 out of 100
- November: 84 out of 100
- December: 80 out of 100
Water averages 65°F this month — fishable, but the margin is thinning. Fish early, land them fast, and stop when the afternoon heats up.
GAUGE 14103000 · COLOURED BY AUGUST
Month by month
| MONTH | TYPICAL FLOW | RANGE (P20–P80) | WATER | AIR HIGH | RAIN | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5,985 cfs | 5,267–7,470 | 42.6°F | — | — | 77 |
| February | 6,327 cfs | 5,567–7,307 | 43.7°F | — | — | 68 |
| March | 6,108 cfs | 5,521–7,572 | 47.2°F | — | — | 83 |
| April | 6,295 cfs | 5,713–9,063 | 52.3°F | — | — | 87 |
| May | 5,656 cfs | 5,096–7,305 | 59.1°F | — | — | 98 |
| June | 4,930 cfs | 4,584–6,088 | 63.7°F | — | — | 71 |
| July | 4,545 cfs | 4,198–4,845 | 66.7°F | — | — | 71 |
| AugustNOW | 4,372 cfs | 4,128–4,705 | 65.2°F | — | — | 71 |
| September | 4,522 cfs | 4,187–4,677 | 60.7°F | — | — | 71 |
| October | 4,801 cfs | 4,556–5,194 | 55.5°F | — | — | 99 |
| November | 5,182 cfs | 4,832–5,632 | 48.7°F | — | — | 84 |
| December | 5,525 cfs | 5,024–6,451 | 44.5°F | — | — | 80 |
WHERE THESE NUMBERS COME FROM
Flow and water temperature are medians of the monthly means reported by USGS gauge 14103000 over 2006-2025. Air temperature and precipitation are ten-year normals from Open-Meteo at this river’s gauge coordinates.
The window is deliberate. USGS’s own full-record statistics for a dammed river reach back before the dam — at Lees Ferry, to 1922, forty-one years before Glen Canyon closed — and describe a river that no longer exists.
Flow is scored against this river’s own fishable band of 4,801–5,985 cfs. There is no universal band: 8,000 cfs is low water on a big tailwater and a flood on a spring creek.
Water temperature is a ceiling rather than a weight. Above about 68°F a trout that is fought and released frequently dies anyway, so no month above that line is scored as worth booking, however good its flow.
The Deschutes River is at its best in October — water around 56°F, flows near 4,801 cfs.
← RIVERS GOING WELL IN AUGUSTRegulations, licences and access change without notice and are not reproduced here as fact — check the state agency before you travel. A median describes twenty years; it does not forecast your week. Source: U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Information System.