2026 regulation year
Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater) 2026 — Oregon Fishing Regulations
Oregon statewide rules apply unless overridden below.
Last updated
Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater) carries a special-regulation overlay on top of Oregon's 2026 fishing rules. Verify the agency booklet before launching: in-season changes are not yet wired to this page.
Get change alerts
Watch Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater) (OR) and we'll email you when a season, bag limit, slot, or closure changes. Free while in beta.
State-level special regulation
Trophy wild redband fishery on the 7-mile tailwater below Bowman Dam (Prineville Reservoir to the Lake Billy Chinook backwater); open all year, 5 trout / day but rainbow (redband) over 20 in are managed as steelhead and must be released. Single point-hook artificial reach popular as a year-round fly water.
Source: Oregon special-water list
Official source
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) publishes the authoritative 2026 Oregon fishing regulations. Special-regulation lakes and rivers are listed in the agency booklet — always verify before fishing.
Visit official Oregon fishing regulations →
Emergency-order channel
In-season closures, slot-limit changes, and run-count-driven harvest pauses are posted to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's emergency-order feed — check it before any Oregon trip during the active season.
Other special-regulation waters in Oregon
- Barney Reservoir
- Brownlee Reservoir + Hells Canyon Reservoir
- Clackamas River
- Columbia River
- Cow Creek (South Umpqua tributary)
- Coyote Lake
- Crater Lake National Park
- Crescent Lake
- Cultus Lake
- Davis Lake
- Deschutes River Lower Deschutes 100-mile Wild & Scenic reach
- Deschutes River Lower Deschutes Wild & Scenic reach
Frequently asked questions
- What special fishing regulations apply at Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater)?
- Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater) carries one special-regulation overlay that overrides Oregon's statewide 2026 rules. It reads: "Trophy wild redband fishery on the 7-mile tailwater below Bowman Dam (Prineville Reservoir to the Lake Billy Chinook backwater); open all year, 5 trout / day but rainbow (redband) over 20 in are managed as steelhead and must be released. Single point-hook artificial reach popular as a year-round fly water." Every overlay on this water body is listed in full above.
- Do I need a fishing license to fish Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater)?
- Yes. Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater) is in Oregon, so a valid Oregon fishing license is required just as it is anywhere else in the state, issued by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). The special regulations on this page change the bag, size, slot, or gear rules for Crooked River; they do not waive the license requirement. Free-fishing days and youth exemptions follow the statewide Oregon rules.
- Do Crooked River (below Bowman Dam tailwater)'s special rules replace Oregon's statewide limits?
- Only where they conflict. Oregon's statewide 2026 regulations apply on Crooked River by default; the overlays above replace the matching statewide rule for the species or gear they name, while everything not specifically overridden still follows the statewide rule. When a water-body rule and the statewide rule disagree, the water-body rule wins.