Bill's blog

Steelhead fishing in the Salmon area picked up last week.   The river is clear, with some days just a hint of color.  Night temperatures have been below freezing, which is slowing snowmelt and runoff which could muddy the river.  River temperature is getting into the low 40s in the afternoon. With the increasing temperature, fish are starting to move.  Catch rates are good.  The last couple of afternoons have each produced two fish landed and one lost, for 3-4 hours fishing for two people.  There are stories of fishermen finding a group of fish and getting several in one hole.  The river is busy on weekends; there are fishermen out on weekdays, too, but things are less crowded then.

Steelhead fishing in the Salmon area picked up last week.   The river is clear, with some days just a hint of color.  Night temperatures have been below freezing, which is slowing snowmelt and runoff which could muddy the river.  River temperature is getting into the low 40s in the afternoon. With the increasing temperature, fish are starting to move.  Catch rates are good.  The last couple of afternoons have each produced two fish landed and one lost, for 3-4 hours fishing for two people.  There are stories of fishermen finding a group of fish and getting several in one hole.  The river is busy on weekends; there are fishermen out on weekdays, too, but things are less crowded then.

In the Salmon area, the ice jam at Deadwater has broken out (about the 16th, much earlier than usual), and launch ramps above North Fork have had ice removed.  The river is open, water is clear,  people are catching fish.  Usually fishing improves a few days after Deadwater breaks out. When the river temperature gets into the 40s, fish that have wintered downriver begin to move upstream into the Salmon area.   There is still quite a bit of snow on the flats, but if it goes off gradually the river will remain clear.  IDFG is predicting a huge number of fish this spring. Success will depend on river conditions, especially temperature and clarity.  We expect to be able to fish in the Salmon area through the first week of April if the river stays clear.

Ice flows down the river most days now, so steelhead fishing is erraticuntil spring. Our snowpack at this point is below average, after being lowthrough the fall. Early snowfall is important to river flows the followingsummer. The fall snow seems to pack down, freeze hard, and last better. Latewinter snow may bring the snowpack average up, but it doesn't seem to last--atleast, that's my notion formed over the last 35 years. The lower flow meansthat June Middle Fork dates will be more viable,less likely to have water toohigh, while we would begin flying late-summer trips into Indian Creek earlier.On the Main Salmon, of course, low water is not an issue.

Last winter was moderate, with somewhat below normal snow pack--offset by avery wet June, so that we had decent river levels through the summer. Our highwater was a long, even, moderate peak--no high, flushing, spikes. The blowoutsof 08 in the upper river remained, but were not a big problem. There was arumor of a storm in that area in the early fall that put more material in theriver in both spots, but I haven't been there to see. The blowout in Tappan IIIthat occurred in the same storm changed a lot in high water, still a dramaticrapid but not the risk of 08.

We have space available on most of our summer trips at this point, withmore calls and reservations so far than at this point in the last couple ofyears--maybe an indication that the recession is wearing out. Give me a callabout space or group composition on specific trips.

27 January 2010

Ice flows down the river most days now, so steelhead fishing is erratic until spring. There will be days--or afternoons--through the winter that portions of the river will be ice-free, and we can put a boat on, but those days are unpredictable. Many of the launch ramps are blocked with ice. Ice jams build up in the winter, and when the weather moderates and the river cuts through the jam, there will be shore ice several feet thick. We float through an ice canyon. As the winter progresses and the likelihood of slush ice diminishes, the Fish and Game and BLM will remove ice from the ramps so that we can get boats in and out of the river. Usually in late February or early March we can begin fishing again, and continue into the beginning of April. Spring fishing can be very good, but requires short-notice coordination of fishing conditions. Check the fishing report on our web page.

Ten below this morning.  We've had ice flowing for a week.  Weather is supposed to moderate this weekend.  There will be fishable afternoons during December and January, days with no ice flow, but unpredictable, so scheduled fishing is over until late winter. Maybe I'll catch a few myself.  There was only one day of ice in November, which is unusual.  The chance of ice after mid-November is high enough that scheduling isn't reliable most years.

In November the river temperature was mostly 40 degrees or below, cold enough that upriver migration was probably minimal.  The river stayed ice-free, so fishing pressure continued.  The per centage of wild fish caught increased--probably because the hatchery  fish were being caught and not replaced by migration.  I suspect that there are a lot of fish wintering downstream that won't get up to the Salmon area until the river gets back into the 40s, sometime in March.

As the river temperature cooled to the upper 30s in November, fishing was less consistent than the last week of October.  There were good days, but also slower days. I got too busy fishing to keep this report updated.  This time of year fishing is dependent on whether ice flows down the river.  We have not yet had ice, even though this morning's air temperature is 10 degrees, and river temperature is 32 degrees.  As the day warms, the river probably will increase 3-4 degrees.  The afternoon will be pleasant, and I will go out myself for a while.  Temperature is supposed to moderate through the week, so we'll have at least a few more days of fishing.  Fish are here, turned a couple yesterday afternoon.  It is difficult to schedule fishing this time of year because of the possibility of ice, but the weather forecast is a very useful tool.

10-30-09 We watched this band of bighorn sheep just above the river as we landed the 8th steelhead of the day--our best day of the fall. 

26 October:

Four fishermen, 6 fish landed, 8 hooked and lost.  Water clear, 44 degrees.  Many of the leaves gone.

10-27-09 Conditions on the Salmon River near Salmon, Idaho continue to be ideal. Hooked 7 on a leisurely day of fishing, took home 3 keepers. Not too much river traffic today.