Cold temperatures moved into the upper Salmon River last week which made steelhead fishing difficult and reduced the amount of angler effort. Most of the observed angler effort was located downstream of Deadwater in location code 15. No anglers reported catching a steelhead within river location codes 14 and 17. Anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 102 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 averaged 50 hours per steelhead caught.

River conditions were good early in the week with clear visibility and water temperatures in the mid-30s. Air temperatures then dropped enough during the weekend to produce frazil ice in all areas of the upper Salmon River. Despite the cold, anglers were able to find some ice-free holes downstream of Deadwater. Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,020 cfs through the town of Salmon, ID which is 78% of average for today’s date.

Brent Beller | Idaho Fish and Game