Steelhead angler effort increased considerably over the past week on the upper Salmon River. The majority of bank anglers were observed downstream of North Fork in location code 15, and boat effort was highest downstream of Salmon in location code 16. Catch rates also improved compared to the previous week. Interviewed anglers downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14 averaged 35 hours per steelhead caught. Interviewed anglers in location code 15 averaged 28 hours per steelhead caught and 78 hours per steelhead kept. Interviewed anglers in location code 16 averaged 31 hours per steelhead caught and 55 hours per steelhead kept. Angler effort upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17 remained low, but steelhead were caught during the week. Anglers interviewed in location code 17 averaged 6 hours per steelhead caught and did not report harvesting a steelhead.
The Salmon River is currently flowing at 1,720 cfs through the town of Salmon, ID which is 130% of average for today’s date. Water temperatures on Sunday were in the mid-40s, and the river’s visibility was clear.
