Upper Salmon River Steelhead Update - 10/31/2023

Hi everyone, this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for October 31st, 2023. The data discussed in this report was collected between Monday, October 23rd and Sunday, October 29th.

Steelhead angler effort on the Upper Salmon River increased during the past week, with most of the effort occurring in the afternoons due to cold weather moving in. The majority of anglers were observed between the Lemhi River and the Middle Fork Salmon River in location codes 15 and 16. Bank angler effort downstream of the Middle Fork was low, and few interviews were obtained from jet boat anglers, which resulted in a low amount of recorded effort and catch for this area. Upstream of the Lemhi River, angler effort remained low, and no interviews were obtained from this area. 

Catch rates improved during the latter half of the week which corresponded with a major drop in water temperatures (see figure below). Anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 16 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 also averaged 16 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14 reported releasing two steelhead which produced an average catch rate of 55 hours per steelhead for this area.

River conditions changed quickly throughout the week as the area transitioned from the unseasonably warm weather experienced the week before to more typical weather for late-October. Water temperatures on Sunday, October 29th were near 40°F and by Tuesday, October 31st, they were near 36°F at the USGS site near Shoup. The river had clear visibility in all areas throughout the weekend. Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,210 CFS through the town of Salmon, ID which is 91 percent of average for today’s date.

The last subject to mention in this week’s report is that the City of Salmon will soon start a construction project at Island Park. This project will require the city to temporarily close all of Island Park through the middle of December. For more details, please follow this link, and for questions, the public is asked to contact the City of Salmon at (208) 756-3214.