Upper Salmon River Steelhead Fishing Report (10-21-2026)

Hi everyone, this is the Upper Salmon River (USR) steelhead fishing report for October 20, 2026, and the data discussed in this report were collected from October 14 through October 18.

Angler effort and catch both began to increase slightly last week, especially over the weekend. Angler effort remained below what we have observed during the past few fall fisheries, but there were noticeably more anglers on the water compared to the previous week, with most of the effort observed downstream of North Fork in location code 15. 

The only area where we encountered anglers who reported catching steelhead was also within location code 15. Anglers in that area averaged 45 hours per steelhead caught. We also heard second-hand reports of steelhead caught below the Middle Fork in location code 14, but we were unable to interview those anglers. Given how the season has progressed so far, we expect the fishery to start picking up some above North Fork this week. 

River and weather conditions were both good throughout last week. During the weekend, the river had clear visibility and water temperatures continued to stay in the upper 40s. The weather forecast calls for another weather system to move through on Thursday and Friday, bringing rain and cooler temperatures to the area. Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,140 cfs through the town of Salmon, ID, which is 85% of average for today’s date.

Lastly, some of you may have already heard or read the recent announcement, but IDFG is closing steelhead harvest in the Clearwater River basin at the end of fishing hours on Wednesday, October 21. As stated in the linked article, “anglers will still be able to fish for steelhead in the Clearwater River basin under catch-and-release regulations, but harvest of steelhead will be closed for the remainder of the 2026 season.” 

Anglers should always check the IDFG website before heading out to the river to stay informed on any recent regulation changes. Additionally, the changes made to harvest regulations in the Clearwater River basin do not apply to the current steelhead regulations in place for the Snake and Salmon rivers. Anglers are still able to harvest two (2) adipose-clipped steelhead per day and have up to six (6) adipose-clipped steelhead in possession while fishing on the Snake and Salmon rivers. 

That’s all we have to report for this week. If you have questions or would like additional information, please call the Salmon Regional Office at (208) 756-2271.