Steelhead angler effort on the upper Salmon River remained low over the past week, but effort did increase over the weekend. The majority of angler effort was observed downstream of North Fork in location code 15. Effort upstream of North Fork in location code 16 was low during the week but increased considerably over the weekend. Little effort was observed upstream of Salmon in location code 17, but it was an increase over previous weeks.
While angler effort remained low, catch rates were the best of the season up to this point. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14 averaged 9 hours per steelhead caught and 14 hours per steelhead kept. Upstream of the Middle Fork in location code 15, interviewed anglers averaged 17 hours per steelhead caught and 24 hours per steelhead kept. Anglers interviewed upstream of North Fork in location code 16 averaged 13 hours per steelhead caught and 32 hours per steelhead kept. No anglers interviewed upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17 reported catching a steelhead. Check Harvest Report for more details.
Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,610 cfs through the town of Salmon, ID which is 122% of average for today’s date. The river’s visibility was clear throughout the week, and water temperatures were near 40°F on Sunday. - Brent Beller, Fisheries Technician II, Salmon Region