During the past week on the upper Salmon River, cold weather continued to make fishing difficult. Angler effort was concentrated downstream of Deadwater in location code 15, and most of the angler effort occurred on Saturday when temperatures warmed up enough to clear the river of slush ice. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14 averaged 15 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 106 hours per steelhead caught. No angler interviews were obtained downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16, and no anglers reported catching a steelhead downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17.

On Sunday, the Salmon River had clear visibility upstream of Deadwater, and cloudy visibility downstream of Deadwater. Water temperatures were near 32°F in all areas.

With the cold temperatures expected to continue, this will be the last weekly steelhead report issued for the fall 2022 steelhead season.

by Brent Beller | Fisheries Biologist 1 | Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission | Idaho Department of Fish and Game – Region 7 | Salmon, ID 83467 | (208) 756-2271