Chinook angler effort and success increased this past week on the upper Salmon River. Angler effort was highest over the weekend, and the majority of anglers were observed fishing near the Buckhorn Bridge area. Since Monday July 10th, Chinook anglers have harvested an estimated 43 hatchery adult Chinook and 48 hatchery jack Chinook. During this time, Chinook anglers averaged 14 hours per Chinook caught and 20 hours per hatchery Chinook kept.
River conditions on the upper Salmon continue to improve, but flows remain high for this time of year. Currently the Salmon River downstream of the Yankee Fork is running at 2,210 cfs which is 185% of average for today’s date. The river’s visibility is clear and morning water temperatures were in the upper 50s over the weekend. Check the Harvest Report for more details.
As of Sunday July 16th, the Sawtooth Hatchery had trapped 783 hatchery Chinook salmon. - Brent Beller, Fisheries Technician, Salmon Region