Upper Salmon River Steelhead Fishing Report (02-18-2026)

Hi everyone, this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for February 18, 2026. The data discussed in this report were collected between Wednesday, February 11 and Sunday, February 15.

As many of you know, this winter has been a mild one. River temperatures in Salmon, ID did not drop to 32°F for the first time last fall until just before Christmas, and the Deadwater ice jam was only in place from mid-January until it opened up on February 10. Due to these warmer water temperatures, the steelhead run has progressed farther upstream by this point than we typically observe. 

IDFG personnel began interviewing anglers throughout the Upper Salmon River last week, and steelhead were being caught at good rates in all monitored areas, especially during the middle of the week. Angler effort was high for mid-February, with moderate effort in all areas between the Middle Fork Salmon River and Challis, ID. Most boat anglers were observed near Salmon, Ellis, and Challis.

Only two anglers were interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in location code 14 on Saturday, and they averaged 9 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 4 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 averaged 6 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed between the Lemhi and Pahsimeroi rivers in location code 17 also averaged 6 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed between the Pahsimeroi and East Fork Salmon rivers in location code 18 averaged 4 hours per steelhead caught. Creel surveys were not conducted upstream of the East Fork Salmon River last week. The two interviews reported for location code 19 were from anglers interviewed near Challis who had fished upstream earlier that morning. 

River conditions last week were generally good (especially for mid-February), with clear to cloudy visibility in all areas. The river's visibility downstream of Salmon, ID did worsen over the weekend due to consecutive nights with above-freezing temperatures, but it should improve quickly with the colder weather forecasted for the upcoming weekend. Flows were stable, and water temperatures near Salmon ranged from the upper 30s to the low 40s throughout the week.

The last item we would like to include in this week’s report is that the boat ramps at Bobcat Gulch, North Fork, and Deadwater are currently unusable due to ice left behind from the ice jam. All ramps upstream of Bobcat Gulch are open and usable. The IDFG ramps (Bobcat and North Fork) will be cleared of ice once we are confident that the river will not freeze back up.