Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.
The South Branch Middle Fork Feather River is a freestone river in California, listed as Wild Trout Water by California Department of Fish and Wildlife / California Fish and Game Commission.
1 guide nearby are listed here.
South Branch Middle Fork Feather River is a freestone river in California.
No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on South Branch Middle Fork Feather River or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest South Branch Middle Fork Feather River
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Restrooms within 2 miles of South Branch Middle Fork Feather River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Little North Fork of Middle Fork Feather RiverThe Yuba River at Sierra City, California. Photo: Yngvadottir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Little North Fork of Middle Fork Feather River.
California · about 6 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Bear CreekUpper Hat Creek below Lassen Peak, Lassen Volcanic National Park. Photo: NPS / Lassen Volcanic National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bear Creek.
California · about 8 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Onion Valley CreekPit River Falls near Fall River Mills, California. Photo: Tom Hilton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Onion Valley Creek.
California · about 11 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Middle Fork Feather RiverThe Fall River Dam and the pool behind it at the lower end of the Fall River, near Fall River Mills, California. Photo: Astronomy1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Middle Fork Feather River.
California · about 13 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Nelson CreekThe Sacramento River in Redding, California. Photo: RoyalMayfair, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Nelson Creek.
California · about 18 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Long LakeEagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Long Lake.
California · about 21 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.
On the Designated Wild Trout Waters (Fish and Game Commission) list (California Department of Fish and Wildlife / California Fish and Game Commission, read 2026-10-16). All waters with this designation
Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-04) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
9.1 of 16.7 mi on public land
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
No shop nearby yet.
The hatch and season chart for this water's region.
12 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From California Fly Fisher (secondary sources: an angling organisation or magazine, not an agency).
American grannom (April to September) · Golden stonefly (May to July) · Green drake (May to July) · Pale morning dun (May to August) · Saddle-case caddis (May to September) · Salmonfly (May to June) · and 6 more on the chart
None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.
No hub within 40 miles
A wade-fishing checklist for big western trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.
9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with South Branch Middle Fork Feather River.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: a point on the mapped channel of “South Branch Middle Fork Feather River”, halfway along its length in California, from the USGS high-resolution hydrography (NHDPlus HR), read 4 Nov 2026. It marks the water, not a particular access or reach. Water type is our own classification.
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Little North Fork of Middle Fork Feather RiverThe Yuba River at Sierra City, California. Photo: Yngvadottir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Little North Fork of Middle Fork Feather River.
California · about 6 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Bear CreekUpper Hat Creek below Lassen Peak, Lassen Volcanic National Park. Photo: NPS / Lassen Volcanic National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bear Creek.
California · about 8 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Onion Valley CreekPit River Falls near Fall River Mills, California. Photo: Tom Hilton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Onion Valley Creek.
California · about 11 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Middle Fork Feather RiverThe Fall River Dam and the pool behind it at the lower end of the Fall River, near Fall River Mills, California. Photo: Astronomy1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Middle Fork Feather River.
California · about 13 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Nelson CreekThe Sacramento River in Redding, California. Photo: RoyalMayfair, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Nelson Creek.
California · about 18 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Long LakeEagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Long Lake.
California · about 21 mi
La Porte, California
River cabins · 9.4 mi
