Steelhead anglers on the upper Salmon River continued to have success during the past week. The highest amount of angler effort was observed during the weekdays, downstream of Salmon, in river location codes 15 and 16. Angler effort between the Lemhi and Pahsimeroi rivers in location code 17 increased, but remained low compared to other areas. Over the weekend, angler effort dropped in all areas as a weather system moved into the area and brought with it colder temperatures and snowfall.
The best catch rates for the week were recorded downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in location code 14 where interviewed anglers averaged 13 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 29 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 averaged 32 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 averaged 21 hours per steelhead caught.
Conditions on the upper Salmon River remained good with clear visibility in all areas. Water temperatures increased throughout the week before quickly dropping back down to 40 degrees by Sunday. Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,260 cfs through the town of Salmon, which is 94 percent of average for today’s date.
We would like to remind steelhead anglers that the daily bag limit for the fall 2020 steelhead fishery is two hatchery steelhead per day, and the possession limit is six hatchery steelhead. For the most up-to-date steelhead fishing rules, anglers are encouraged to visit the IDFG website at https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/steelhead/rules.