This morning the Deadwater ice jam downstream from North Fork went out. The river is 38 degrees at mid-day, visibility 10-12 inches max downstream from the Lemhi. Lots of low snow to melt yet.

Ice has been removed from the Bobcat Gulch and North Fork ramp. The 4th July take-out is not a developed ramp, and does not get cleaned, but a person could drag a boat out there with a long rope and then load it. So–the river is ice-free and available down to North Fork. The ice […]

The Fish and Game Department has cleared the ice from the Red Bluff boat ramp north of Salmon. The river was free of floating ice, which surprised me a little, as it was only 15 degrees in late afternoon, snowing all day. A boat was pulling off the river at Red Bluff when I checked […]

Yesterday BLM removed ice from the Tower Creek boat ramp north of Salmon. The Red Bluff ramp is F&G and hasn’t been opened yet. Yesterday was in the 40s with a lot of snow slushing up, run-off on roads, etc, after a night that did not freeze. The river seemed very slightly off-color. Last night […]

There have been a few fishermen out for steelhead in the Salmon vicinity lately, but the ice has not let go yet. Warmer nights have meant little slush ice running, but the Deadwater ice jam still extends upstream to above 4th of July creek. The river is open past the Tower Creek and Red Bluff […]

The Salmon River in the Salmon area is beginning to open up. Warmer weather last month began to chew away at the Deadwater ice jam, but the cold snap the first week of February brought ice again. Temperature dropped to 20 below last week, and ice jam increased back toward Salmon several miles. Warmer temperature […]

Warmer weather in the past week chewed away at the upper end of the ice jam. By mid-week the upper end of the ice jam was at the Red Bluff ramp. The Tower Creek ramp was ice-blocked, even though the river was open. Cooler mornings the last day or two has slush running down the […]

In the Salmon area, the Deadwater ice jam is pretty solid up to Tower Creek. Cold weather in early December brought the jam upstream to between Tower Creek and Morgan Bar, but recent warmer weather has cut it back down to around Tower Creek. The river has been clear of floating ice in several recent […]

This morning the Salmon River near Salmon is running slush ice again. There has been ice for the last several mornings, but yesterday afternoon the river cleared. Ice is forming in the eddies at the ramps, complicating getting a boat out.

Heavy ice flowing this morning in the Salmon area.

Cold this morning, about 13 degrees (though predicted to be 3). River was 32 degrees at the end of the day. I expect there will be ice tomorrow morning. After this cold snap, the river will probably warm a bit again, and provide some more fishing, but migration is surely over. Day before yesterday I […]

This morning the river was 34 degrees, 40 at the end of the day. I was surprised that the river warmed as much as it did, considering that there wasn’t much sun. The river is very clear. We did pretty well today relative to recent fishing–my boat had a couple of hits, a fish lost […]

Steelhead fishing in the Salmon area continues slow, with a few stories of boats with a decent catch. Yesterday Stephanie landed one, lost two, in her boat, and I did the same. Previous days were similar. Water clarity is good, level is strong average for this time of year, temperature in the low 40s. A […]

Steelhead fishing in the Salmon area remained slow over the weekend. Stephanie was out Sunday with a couple of fishermen for a short day, hooked three, which apparently was typical for the day. There was a rumor of a couple of guides doing very well downstream, though, so hopefully more fish are on the way. […]

Fishing is picking up, though still slow for this time of year. I spent the week of the 14-18 on the Lower Salmon, on the very lowest end of the Salmon River. The river was a little higher than average for this time of year, but was reasonably clear after the high runoff from the […]

This afternoon the Salmon River was 48 degrees, a little color but fishable, a little higher than average after the rains of a week ago. Not hearing of many fish caught here, though I don’t expect much before the third week of October in the Salmon area. I’m off to the Lower Salmon for a […]

Still early for steelhead, don’t expect steelhead in the Salmon area until the third week of October. But they are on their way. River temperature at mid-day is 48 degrees, a little off-color, but fishable. Level is still above average after the rains last week, subsiding slowly. We have a five-day camping steelhead trip scheduled […]

Recent rains have increased river levels dramatically with dirty water a result. Yesterday the river temperature near Salmon was 48 degrees, with the river too off-color to fish. It is still too early for best steelhead fishing in the Salmon area anyway, and hopefully the river will clear by the time fish arrive in a […]

Steelhead usually arrive in the Salmon area in fishable numbers in the third week of October.  Dam counts were low earlier, but now are a strong average.  More important than numbers, in the Salmon area, is water temperature, which affects the migration.  The river is cooling, which will stimulate fish to move upstream.  We have […]

Mid-winter snowpack in the Salmon River basin was above average, but the rest of the winter and spring was dry. By late May the snowpack was less than 50%.  The Middle Fork of the Salmon peaked about the 14th of May, at about 6 1/2 feet, and has been dropping continuously, now in the mid-threes.  […]