Bill's blog

Flyfishing for steelhead on Salmon River.

10-26-09  Susan and her catch of the day! Nice 27.5 inch steelhead from the Salmon River.

 10-26-09  Susan and Misti with some nice steelhead caught on the Salmon River near Salmon, Idaho.

10-21-09 Here's Terri and Roxanne with big smiles and a big fish! We had another great day of fishing with good weather and consistent bites. The fall colors are about at their peak, and the fishing report keeps getting better.

Tuesday, October 20 report: 2 boats out, each with 8 bites and 3 landed.

20 October 09:  two drift boats on the river today, each boat got 8-9 hits, with three steelhead landed in each boat--an improvement from the last few days.  Fish seem to be arriving.  River clear, 48 degrees at mid-day, and high for this time of year.

17 October 09:

Steelhead are arriving in the Salmon area now.  The dam counts indicate about twice as many fish this year as the 10-year average, and about 50% morre than last year, with projections of more fish than the previous record run.  The limit has been raised to five fish per day on the Salmon River.

Steelhead have not yet reached the Salmon area in significant numbers, but they are coming.  I expect to start catching fish in mid-October.  Dam counts indicate a very good run of fish, approaching all-time records.  We have quite a bit of space available, but it is time to reserve a date.

Our whitewater season is nearly over.  In September we still offer a four-day long weekend trip on the Lower Salmon.  September is the best time to be on that section of river, after the summer heat has moderated in that low-elevation country. September is still summer there, and more pleasant than July or August. Small mouth bass fishing is good. Few people are on the river at this time of the year, after the traditional summer vacation period. These trips are especially attractive for people within a few hours drive of the Lewiston area, since they are scheduled to be extended weekend trips, without a major vacation commitment. You can drive to the area after work on Thursday, float Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday, and return home in time for work on Tuesday. We do have some flexibility on dates there, if other dates match your schedule better.

 We begin to get interest in the following summer about this time of year.  Dates for 2010 on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon will be the same.    On the Lower Salmon, September trips start on Fridays to maximize use of the weekend, and the October fishing trips start on Monday to minimize competition with weekenders.  Rates may be adjusted for inflation (or not), but trips deposited by the first of the year will lock in 09 rates.

I'll be happy to send a  brochure describing our trips, or go over details about our trips by phone, day, evening, or weekend.  There was an article about our drift boat fishing on the Middle Fork last winter in BoatUS magazine that you can link to (see home page). 

I'll send a copy of our newsletter reviewing the 08 season  if you send an address.  I prepare the 09 season summary the end of the year, and mail it in mid-winter.