Steelhead angler effort began to drop off this past week on the upper Salmon River. The majority of anglers were observed downstream of the Sawtooth Hatchery or just downstream of the Pahsimeroi River, in the Deer Gulch area. No interviewed anglers reported catching a steelhead downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16. Upstream of the Lemhi River, in location code 17, interviewed anglers averaged 13 hours per steelhead caught and 290 hours per steelhead kept. In location code 18, near Challis, interviewed anglers averaged 11 hours per steelhead caught and 154 hours per steelhead kept. Upstream of the East Fork, in location code 19, interviewed anglers averaged 13 hours per steelhead caught and 42 hours per steelhead kept.
Currently, the Salmon River through the town of Salmon is flowing at 1,740 cfs which is 98% of average for today’s date. The river was running clear for the majority of the week, but it became a little off color by late Sunday. Water temperatures were recorded in the mid to upper 40s throughout the week.
