Upper Salmon River Steelhead Report 10.27.26
The weekend that was
Steelhead anglers showed up in force downstream of Salmon last weekend — the fishing public, it seems, was ready. The river, unfortunately, was not on the same page. Brent Beller with Idaho Fish and Game reported that heavy rain Thursday and Friday added roughly 25% more river than we had, and knocked visibility way down in the process. The combination made for some tough sledding: of the anglers IDFG staff encountered, only two had managed to put a steelhead in the net.
The good news is that the trend was already turning. Catch rates were starting to improve early this week, and everything points in the right direction from here — the water is clearing, and more steelhead should be pushing upstream of Corn Creek as the week goes on.
Current conditions
- Visibility: slightly cloudy — a big step up from the weekend murk
- Flows: down since Sunday; running about 1,200 cfs at Salmon
- Water temperature: mid-40s°F, down from the low 50s early last week
That cooling trend can work in our favor this time of year — falling temps tend to get fish on the move, and with any luck, on the bite.
Questions, comments, or a good fish story to share? Drop Beller a line.
Feature photo by Jason Maxwell
