The East Fork of the Owyhee River is the tailwater below Wildhorse Dam which was built in 1937.
- Region
- Eastern
- County
- Elko
- Type of water
- River
Fishing Report
This stream has a lot of ice and snow and fishing is difficult due to this and low flows. Fly rodders should be nymphing or swinging streamers where flows allow. Spin fishermen should use small gold spinners or dark spinners with contrasting light colors. As of December 15, the East Fork of the Owyhee below the dam was flowing at 7.31 cfs while at the gauging station in Mountain City is showing ice.
12-15-2022Pertinent Information
The East Fork of the Owyhee River is subject to large flow swings ranging from about 15 cfs to 1500 cfs in the spring. The first 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile below the dam the fish are mostly reservoir fish and larger in size. Below that wild rainbows predominate averaging 8 to 15 inches in size. There are approximately 6 to 7miles of fishable stream in the canyon below the dam. Once the canyon starts to widen, private land becomes an issue.