Hi everyone, this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for November 12, 2025, and the data discussed in this report were collected from November 3 through November 9.
The Upper Salmon River steelhead fishery was busy again last week with many anglers on the water. Most anglers were observed downstream of Salmon, ID with boat anglers primarily concentrated between Salmon and Spring Creek, and the majority of bank anglers fishing downstream of North Fork. Angler effort upstream of Salmon in location code 17 remained relatively low compared to the downstream areas, but both effort and catch increased in that section.
Catch rates dipped slightly compared to the previous week, likely due to the inconsistent water temperatures and flows observed midweek (see figures below). The fishing picked back up over the weekend though and was noticeably better than from Tuesday through Thursday. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in location code 14 averaged 29 hours per steelhead caught, while those interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 23 hours per steelhead caught. Downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16, anglers averaged 19 hours per steelhead caught, and upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17, anglers averaged 13 hours per steelhead caught.
River conditions were up and down last week as precipitation and unseasonably warm weather increased both flows and water temperatures. By midweek, water temperatures had reached the mid-40s but dropped back into the low-40s by Sunday. Flows rose on Thursday, stayed high through the weekend, and began dropping on Monday. As of today, the Salmon River has excellent visibility and is flowing at 1,300 cfs through Salmon, which is 99% of average for today’s date.
That’s all we have to share for this week’s update. If you have questions or would like additional information, please call the Salmon Regional Office at (208) 756-2271.
