The Owyhee River below Owyhee Reservoir in Oregon is one of the best brown trout streams in the West and a favorite place for anglers from the Treasure Valley to Fish. But as good as it is, the Owyhee River could even be better if it had more trout spawning habitat.

Boise Valley Fly Fishers (BVFF) has worked with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to monitor brown trout spawning since 2016. The brown trout population and number of redds varies year to year, but one common theme every year is that most of the brown trout spawning happens in the top 5 miles of river and very few fish spawn downstream by the Owyhee River Ranch even though the water quality and insect population in that reach is very good.

In Fall of 2021 we began an effort with ODFW to do a gravel augmentation to improve the spawning habitat on the lower reaches of the Owyhee River. We have determined that the run below the intermittent Sand Hollow creek has the right water depth and velocity for trout spawning but it lacks the smaller gravels needed. By adding gravel to this location trout will have a productive place to spawn which will improve the trout population in the lower reaches of the river.

BVFF’s gravel augmentations on the Boise River in Idaho have been very successful and we have high expectations for the potential improvement to the trout population on the Owyhee River. We have secured partial funding through grants from Fly Fishers International and ODFW, but the cost of doing a large gravel augmentation at a remote location is considerably higher than our small gravel augmentations on the Boise River. The costs are also higher for doing any stream alteration work in Oregon because of additional permitting.

We are raising money for the gravel augmentation through our internal club fundraiser “Greenbacks For Redds” and through the Idaho Gives Campaign which runs May 1st through May 4th, 2023. Please consider helping us reach our gravel augmentation goal by contributing to the Idaho Gives Campaign. Donations made through Idaho Gives will be generously matched up to $1,000 by St. Clair Contractors, who has been a great partner in helping with BVFF’s Boise River gravel augmentation and our Angler Access project at the new Diane Moore Nature Center.

OUR THANKS goes to the people who have already purchased Greenbacks to support our gravel augmentation effort on the Boise River. Funds left over from that project will be applied to the Owyhee River gravel augmentation.

THANK YOU!

George Butts, Troy Pearse, Brian Martin, Robert Boatright, Fairlee Frey, Greg Mondin, Dennis Moore,

Dennis Fomin, Gary Gettman, Larry Hill, Kathi Rothner, Scott Lenz, Kent Christensen, Tim Hall, Terry Burton,

Klaus Kissman, Jack Truschel, Johnny Rogers, Robert Hurley, Brad Stewart, Ray Arguello, Michael Stahl,

John Slovick, Jason Hansen, Tim Opp, Jim Kazakoff, Guy Beaudine, Ron Gambassi, James Murry, Joel Peterson, Ralph Stark, Joe Barberio, and Mike Schwiebert.