Steelhead angler effort on the upper Salmon River was most concentrated upstream of the East Fork Salmon River in location code 19 during the past week. Outside of location code 19, steelhead anglers were most commonly observed near the mouth of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17.
The best catch rates were once again observed within location code 19, and anglers interviewed within that area averaged 10 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 averaged 23 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed upstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 18 averaged 49 hours per steelhead caught.
River conditions were good throughout the week. The river had slightly cloudy visibility in all areas downstream of the East Fork on Sunday, and water temperatures ranged from the low to mid-40s depending on location. Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,430 cfs through the town of Salmon, which is 96 percent of average for today's date. Upstream, near the Yankee Fork, the Salmon River is flowing at 712 cfs which is 90 percent for today's date.
As of Monday, April 12, the Pahsimeroi Hatchery has trapped 1,852 hatchery steelhead, and the Sawtooth Hatchery has trapped 1,033 hatchery steelhead. Additionally, 65 hatchery steelhead were stocked into Kids Creek Pond in Salmon on Monday, April 12, and 100 hatchery steelhead were stocked into Blue Mountain Meadow Pond in Challis on Thursday, April 8.
Anglers are reminded that the daily bag limit for the spring 2021 steelhead fishery is 2 hatchery steelhead per day with a possession limit of 6 hatchery steelhead. Anglers can find the most up-to-date steelhead fishing rules on the Fish and Game website at https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/steelhead/rules.