Highlights from the weekly Clearwater steelhead creel survey.
- The Snake River in river section 01 had a jump in effort this past week which may be in part due to the derby. Only 51 fish were checked in this section.
- The Fall Chinook fishery closed on the 17th this past week but there was little effort for Chinook at the Hells Canyon Dam Tailrace.
- The main stem of the Clearwater from Mouth to Orofino Bridge (river sect. 03) had the most effort. Most of the anglers like last week are fishing from Peck to Orofino. Anglers reported the best success side drifting bait or beads and pulling plugs.
- River section 04 of the main stem had the best catch rates this week but some of the lowest effort. Most of the boat anglers fishing in this area fished from 5 mile ramp down to Orofino. Shore effort was more focused around the Kooskia area. The boat anglers had the best success pulling plugs while the shore anglers were using bobbers and a jig with shrimp.
- This past week we also documented our first anglers in river section 06 which is upstream of Kooskia to Clear Creek.
- The North Fork had good catch rates but like river section 04 it also saw less effort. Anglers who had the most success reported that they used bait and jigs and effort is pretty spread out.
- Effort has dropped on the Salmon River this week. River section 12 saw the most effort but overall fishing was slow.
Check the Harvest Report for more details. - Jaime Robertson, Clearwater Region, Senior Fisheries Technician