Steelhead fishing on the upper Salmon River improved over the last week. Angler effort remained high, and river conditions continued to improve as flows and temperature dropped throughout the week. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14 averaged 47 hours per steelhead caught and 210 hours per steelhead kept. Upstream of the Middle Fork in location code 15, interviewed anglers averaged 23 hours per steelhead caught and 36 hours per steelhead kept. Upstream of North Fork in location code 16, interviewed anglers averaged 26 hours per steelhead caught and 48 hours per steelhead kept. Angler effort upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17 was low, but interviewed anglers averaged 10 hours per steelhead caught or kept.
Currently the Salmon River is flowing at 1,740 cfs through the town of Salmon, ID which is 133% of average for today’s date. River temperatures on Sunday were in the low 40s, and the river had clear visibility in all areas except downstream of the Middle Fork where it was slightly off color with cloudy visibility. - Brent Beller, Salmon Region Fisheries Technician II