Hi everyone, this is the upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for February 27, 2024. The data in this report was collected between Tuesday, February 19 and Sunday, February 25.

The spring steelhead fishery on the upper Salmon River continued to ramp up during the past week. Angler effort increased in all areas, with the largest increases observed in river location codes 15 and 16, between the Middle Fork and the community of Salmon.  Angler effort upstream of Salmon also increased, but not to the same extent as the downstream areas.

Catch rates remained good in all areas last week. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14 averaged 8 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed upstream of the Middle Fork in location code 15 averaged 7 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed upstream of North Fork in location code 16 averaged 12 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17 averaged 14 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed upstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 18 averaged 6 hours per steelhead caught. A small number of angler interviews were obtained from upstream of the East Fork in location code 19 which resulted in an average catch rate of 14 hours per steelhead caught.

River conditions remained good throughout the past week with clear visibility in all areas. Warmer weather over the weekend caused a slight reduction in the visibility downstream of Salmon by Sunday, but this is expected to clear up with cooler temperatures forecasted for the upcoming week. On Sunday afternoon, water temperatures ranged from the upper 30s to the low 40s, depending on location. Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,080 cfs through the town of Salmon, which is 100 percent of average for today’s date.

Lastly, we’d like to mention two developments since last week’s fishing report. As of Monday, February 26, the Pahsimeori Hatchery has trapped 30 hatchery steelhead. Additionally, during the middle of last week, all IDFG owned boat ramps between Salmon and North Fork were cleared of ice and are now usable.

Report by Brett Beller – IDFG