Wade76/100
Wading is in play only where your chosen access has clear footing, legal entry, and no forced crossings.
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Fly fishing report · Pacific Northwest
Cedar River Fishing Report — Cedar Falls Powerplant, Washington
Is Cedar River worth the trip today? Check flow, weather, hatches, access, and rules for Cedar Falls Powerplant, Washington before you go.
See the flow chart ↓Generated artwork: BlueStreamFly · Regional illustration; not the exact location.
Good day to fish?Latest river check
Good
Yes. It looks worth the trip.
76
No clear best access mode. Wade and Bank / edge have the same top score. Use current access, footing, weather, and local rules to choose.
See update time and confidence
Live data checkHighHow much of the live flow, weather, and alert data came back.
Today's callHighCurrent flow, weather, alerts, and trip-critical signals support this decision.
Score calculated Aug 23, 2026, 5:21 PM PDTUsually checks again about every 45 minutes
Access choicesNo clear best mode
Wade and Bank / edge have the same top score. Use current access, footing, weather, and local rules to choose.
Bank / edge76/100
Bank and edge fishing remains a practical low-commitment option if access is legal and footing is safe.
FloatNot recommended
This report does not recommend floating this reach.
Your plan
Today's Cedar River plan.
This is not a free-roaming mountain river plan. Use RiverReports for trend context, confirm with USGS 12116400, and build the trip around the legal public edge near Cedar Falls and Rattlesnake Lake instead of assuming the municipal watershed is open to anglers.
- Check first
- Seattle Public Utilities restricts public access inside most of the municipal watershed.
- Try
- Keep the day compact and fish only the clearly legal public edge instead of trying to force more mileage.
- Leave when
- Skip when access is not clearly public, watershed boundaries are uncertain, flow is rising from release or rain, cold current is pushy, or slick canyon footing raises consequence.
Live river check
What the river is doing
Check the latest flow and weather before you go. A quick change can make the river harder or less safe to fish.
Showing server-checked river conditions while current readings refresh.
- Flow
- 39 cfs
- From the latest stored river check. Open the official source for the newest reading.Water 65.5°F · 24h high 65.8°F · USGS provisional
- Air now
- 71°F
Current NWS forecast period
- Next 24h high
- 83.0°F
NWS air forecast near
- Rain chance
- 3%
For this forecast period
Latest stored weather check
Mostly Sunny
Mostly Sunny
- Wind
- 6 mph
- Weather checked
RiverReports preview · current series loading
Recent flow
RiverReports gauge
Showing the available RiverReports chart while the current structured flow series loads. Check the chart on RiverReports Opens in a new tab.
More forecast and source details
National Weather Service
Cedar River near Cedar Falls, Washington
The National Weather Service forecast is temporarily unavailable.
Live data
Where these readings come from
RiverReports gauge: Cedar River near Cedar Falls
Water 65.5°F · provisional · 24h high 65.8°F provisionalWater observed · high observed
How to fish it
How to fish Cedar River today.
Treat the Cedar Falls reach as a niche option for anglers who want a legal, carefully scoped upper-Cedar look. If access or weather feels uncertain, shift downriver or head toward the Snoqualmie side instead of guessing.
Cold clear flow
Best for careful short presentations along boulders, seams, and pocket-water transitions.
Pushed release or rain flow
Back off quickly because access options are limited and wading consequence rises fast.
Low stable flow
The easiest time to make a short legal-access trip without overcommitting the day.
Warm lowland weather
Upper shade helps, but do not confuse a cooler canyon feel with universally safe trout conditions.
Fishing words used on this page
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauge
- A USGS gauge is an official river station that measures flow or water height.
- Cubic feet per second (cfs)
- Cubic feet per second, or cfs, shows how much water passes the gauge each second.
- Nymph
- A nymph is a young water insect. Anglers also use the word for a fly that copies it.
- Presentation
- Presentation means how you cast and move the fly so it looks natural to a fish.
- Seam
- A seam is the line where fast and slow water meet.
- Caddis
- Caddis are small water insects. The adults look a little like tiny moths.
- Midge
- Midges are tiny flies and a common trout food, especially in cold water.
- Pocket water
- Pocket water is a small calm spot among rocks or fast current.
- Streamer
- A streamer is a fly that looks like a small fish, leech, or other swimming food.
- Terrestrial
- Terrestrials are land insects, such as ants, beetles, and grasshoppers.
Why this call
Why this score
FlowUse caution
USGS shows 39 cfs. The flow has been stable over about 6 hours. USGS marks this reading provisional and may revise it. USGS records for this date (2002-2025, 24 readings) show a median near 41 cfs and the lower quartile near 39 cfs; today's flow is below normal for the date. This is below normal, so edge depth, temperature, and pressure matter.
SeasonHelps
Summer: Often the cleanest short-session season if you start early and stay disciplined about access.
Water temperatureHelps
USGS water temperature is about 65.5F, and the rolling 24-hour high did not trigger a heat caution. USGS marks the temperature data provisional and may revise it.
Public alertsHelps
No active NWS alert was returned for this forecast point.
Fishing usefulnessHelps
Skip when access is not clearly public, watershed boundaries are uncertain, flow is rising from release or rain, cold current is pushy, or slick canyon footing raises consequence.
Trip notes
Trip notes
Check these before you choose a reach.
Use the Cedar Falls gauge with Seattle watershed context. Stable cold flow is useful only when the access boundary is legal and obvious.
Skip when access is not clearly public, watershed boundaries are uncertain, flow is rising from release or rain, cold current is pushy, or slick canyon footing raises consequence.
Start with Seattle watershed rules and USGS 12116400, then decide whether Rattlesnake Lake/Cedar Falls public-edge access supports a short session.
Compare Cedar River at Renton, Middle Fork Snoqualmie, or another greater-Seattle river when Cedar Falls access or flow is not right.
What to try
Cedar River flies through the year.
Match the time of year, then let rising fish and current speed guide the next change.
SeasonWhat to look forFlies to try
Late winter to spring
What to look forMidges, stoneflies, and early caddis in cold, clear windows
SummerCurrent
What to look forCaddis, pale mayflies, and terrestrials around shaded banks and gravel edges
Early fall
What to look forCaddis and opportunistic baitfish windows around migrating salmon
Late fall to winter
What to look forSparse insect life and short steelhead-friendly windows
Each fly name opens its matching Fly Box guide.
Access and safety
Cedar River access and rules.
Use these places as starting points. Open the access link below and check posted signs before you park or enter. Check Washington sport fishing rules first, then layer Seattle watershed access rules over them before you treat the trip as fishable.
Rattlesnake Lake recreation area
A practical base for the public-edge upper-Cedar plan near Cedar Falls.
Watershed education-center side of the area
Useful for orientation and understanding where public access ends.
Clearly signed public pull-ins only
The only safe approach near a municipal watershed with restricted land.
Seattle manages the municipal watershed for drinking water and fish habitat, not open wandering access.
If a route or bank is not clearly public, assume it is off limits.
Upper-Cedar success comes from respecting the boundary, not trying to sneak around it.
River sources
Official Cedar River sources.
Official agencies and primary river operators come first. Secondary tools are labeled so you know what carries the most weight.
How this report was checked
How this report was checked
Reviewed byBlueStreamFly River Review Team
Trip guidance checked
What was checked: This report starts with official regulation, access, flow, weather, and public-land sources, then adds practical planning guidance for fly anglers.
Live measurements and forecasts keep their provider timestamps. Rules, access, and trip guidance use the source-review date shown here. BlueStreamFly planning advice is editorial interpretation, not an agency notice.
First-hand experience: BlueStreamFly does not claim a first-hand visit or local field test for this report unless a real contributor is explicitly named and linked.
Rules and closures
Check what is allowed, where the rule applies, and whether the river is open.
Flow and weather
Check the latest river reading and forecast before you leave.
Access and land
Check public entry points, land rules, and seasonal access changes.
More helpful links
Use these links for stocking, safety, and other local details.
See all 7 checked sources
Rules and closures
Check what is allowed, where the rule applies, and whether the river is open.
What this source covers
Open the current rules and check the river section, season, and special limits.
Flow and weather
Check the latest river reading and forecast before you leave.
What this source covers
Open this river reading to check the latest level, flow, and update time.
What this source covers
Open this page and check the latest safety advice before your trip.
What this source covers
Open this river reading to check the latest level, flow, and update time.
Access and land
Check public entry points, land rules, and seasonal access changes.
What this source covers
Open the land or access page, then check signs before you park or enter.
More helpful links
Use these links for stocking, safety, and other local details.
What this source covers
Open this page for more river information and check when it was last updated.
What this source covers
Open this page for more river information and check when it was last updated.
Quick answers
Quick Cedar River answers.
Can I freely roam the Cedar River near Cedar Falls?
No. Much of the surrounding municipal watershed is protected and access is restricted, so you should stay with clearly legal public-entry areas only.
Why fish the Cedar Falls reach at all?
Because when access, flow, and weather line up, it offers a colder upper-river feel close to Seattle without pretending to be a wide-open destination fishery.
What should I check before going?
Check the watershed-access rules, RiverReports, USGS 12116400, weather, and whether your chosen stop is unquestionably public.