The Salmon River in the Salmon area is a little off-color, around 20 inches visibility. Nights with freezing temperature are helping the river clear a bit, after the mud and high flow of two weeks ago. River temperature has been reaching low 40s in the afternoon. The Red Bluff boat launch has been cleared of […]
The Salmon River near Salmon is clearing, after the heavy run-off last weekend. Visibility is about 10 inches–not what I would care to fish, but a favorable trend. River temperature at mid day was 44 degrees.
My son-in-law and I took a drive to the Pahsimeroi Valley last month, and spotted this herd of elk in a field. A rough count was 375, cows, calves, and a few spikes. Across the Pahsimeroi river was a small bull herd, about 15 animals, all bulls, from mature to spikes. Forty years ago, I […]
The Deadwater ice jam just below North Fork has broken out. This annual event is a landmark, signals the beginning of the spring steelhead fishing season in the Salmon area. This year, though, not so much. Winter fishing was very good in the Salmon area, with little ice. The warm weather of the last […]
Warm overnight temperatures have started snow melting off the valley floor in the Salmon valley, and the Salmon River has turned tan. Steelhead fishing had been very good through the winter, but until the river clears, fishing is a waste of time. Freezing nights will help, but until the low snow melts, the river is […]
You know the saying, “Once you leave home, you can never come back again.” I remember one of my high school teachers saying that to us in one of our senior English classes. I thought about it a lot-of course I could come home…couldn’t I? What I didn’t understand at the time is what many parents of 2015 […]
The Salmon River near Salmon was ice-free again today. The upper end of the Deadwater ice jam this year was several miles below the usual location–between Tower Creek and Red Bluff instead of between Carmen and Tower Creek. The Tower Creek launch ramp is open, as well as Carmen and the new, temporary, ramp […]
One of our favorite and most talked-about river desserts is cherry crisp. You may make this with any canned fruit. We’ve tried peaches, raspberries and blackberries(separately) and they are great, too. Our desserts have evolved over the decades, though many of our river recipes have been in use for over 35 years now. Back in the […]
This has been an exceptional winter steelhead season in the Salmon area. The river has been ice-free most of the winter, outside of a couple of cold snaps. Most winters fishing is restricted by floating slush as well as long sections of the river completely frozen over. The river was open and fishable today […]
The Salmon River near Salmon remains free of floating slush ice this week. The sub-zero temperatures of Christmas week produced a lot of ice, but warmer temperatures cleared the river. The 7-day forecast suggests that the river will remain clear. However there have been several days of overcast and fog recently, so steelhead fishing hasn’t […]
Ok, I survived Christmas. A few days before the holiday, my wonderful aunt Mary sent me this picture showcasing her undying Christmas spirit. I laughed and laughed! I must admit I sometimes feel an awful lot like this, too. But, as I’m sure you were told many times growing up, we can use our imaginations […]
Snow fell all day on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, there was 4-5 inches of fresh snow at our house–a welcome Christmas bonus. Basin-wide per cent of average for the date is about 120%. The north side of the basin apparently has more snow than the south side. The upper Middle Fork drainage seems to […]
The Salmon River near Salmon remains ice-free, and steelhead fishermen are still on the river. Today the river temperature is in the upper 30s. Yesterday it was 40 degrees at mid-day. Clarity is off a bit. Right now I would consider it fishable, but if the river got much darker I probably wouldn’t bother to […]
I hope this picture tells you a thousand words: My son is quite a character. He’s a VERY BUSY three-year-old, and great user of his mom’s extra time. If I am sporadic in posting here, you now know why. But anyway, let’s get back to the Middle Fork. I believe we were just finishing lunch […]
It’s December. I’m sitting at my desk, looking out my office window which overlooks the Salmon River. It’s snowing. I keep telling myself that this is a good thing: all those flakes are adding up to a few more drops of water for next summer’s river season. This time of year, when all this snowing […]
Dates and rates for 2015 are updated on the web site. Dates on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon are the same, except in September, because dates are assigned to us by the Forest Service. On the Lower Salmon, we can control our dates, and I align them with days of the week. Some rates […]
With recent moderate weather, the Salmon River has not been carrying slush ice in the Salmon area in recent days. In general, if the overnight low is above 20 degrees, there won’t be ice flowing. Based on that and the forecast, this week should be ice-free. Steelhead fishermen are picking up some fish. There aren’t […]
This morning the snow pack report for the Salmon River drainage shows 120% of average for the date. The fall was warm and dry until mid-November, then winter arrived with an abrupt cold snap. Temperature in the morning was O for several days, and ice began to flow down the river and jam. Temperature moderated, […]
Dates for whitewater rafting trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon during the summer are fixed, but post-season dates, after 3 September, change each year. In 2015, we have a launch date on 17 September. By that time, passengers will fly in to begin the trip, at Indian Creek, or another air strip along […]
I recently took my two-and-a-half year old on a six-day river trip. Two trips, actually. Since I was also in full-time guide mode, I had to bring help. The first trip was a total trial, but worked out far better than I could have imagined. My amazing friend, Lexi, came along with her almost-four-year-old, who […]
