Idaho Steelhead Fishing Slows with Early Cold

The overall effort in fishing for steelhead in Idaho was low this past week due to cold temperatures.

Steelhead fishing this past week on the upper Salmon River was noticeably impacted by a stretch of unseasonably cold weather that persisted from late Monday afternoon through Friday. During this time, the river upstream of Deadwater was flowing with frazil ice, and no angler interviews were obtained from this area. Anglers were interviewed downstream of Deadwater, but overall effort was low due to the cold temperatures.

Angler effort did increase considerably over the weekend as warmer weather moved into the area. The weather forecast for the upcoming week looks promising and is calling for highs near 50°F each day and lows just below freezing. This should continue to improve river conditions and provide some excellent weather for fishing.

Bank angler effort during the weekend was highest downstream of North Fork in location code 15 while boat angler effort was highest upstream of North Fork in location code 16. Angler effort upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17 increased slightly compared to the previous week. No anglers who were interviewed in location code 14, downstream of the Middle Fork, or in location code 17 reported catching a steelhead. Anglers interviewed in location code 15 averaged 60 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed in location code 16 averaged 48 hours per steelhead caught. Check the Harvest Report for more details.

Currently, the Salmon River at Salmon is flowing at 1,300 cfs, which is 98 percent of average for today’s date. River temperatures on Sunday were in the mid-30s, and the river’s visibility was clear in the areas upstream of Deadwater and slightly cloudy in the areas downstream.