Angler effort shifted noticeably upriver last week, with a significant reduction in effort observed downstream of Salmon, ID. Most angler activity was located from just downstream of the Pahsimeroi River confluence upstream to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery in location codes 17, 18, and 19. Among these areas, location code 19 received the highest amount of effort.
Catch rates from last week varied considerably depending on location. Only three interviews were obtained from anglers fishing downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14, and those anglers averaged 16 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 14 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 did not report catching a steelhead. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 averaged 25 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of the East Fork in location code 18 averaged 27 hours per steelhead caught. The best average catch rate for the week was once again located upstream of the East Fork Salmon River in location code 19. Anglers interviewed within this area averaged 5 hours per steelhead caught.
River conditions varied across the Upper Salmon River last week. Generally, we observed a moderate increase in flows in all areas, with reduced visibility downstream of the East Fork. Although conditions improved slightly over the weekend with cooler weather returning, precipitation forecasted for the upcoming week may continue to affect river conditions. On Sunday, the river had cloudy visibility in all areas downstream of the East Fork, and water temperatures ranged from 40°F above the East Fork to 46°F downstream of North Fork (see figure below).
As of Monday, March 25, the Pahsimeroi Hatchery has trapped 859 adipose-clipped steelhead, and the Sawtooth Hatchery has trapped 524 adipose-clipped steelhead. Anglers can check for updated trap numbers by following this link to the IDFG steelhead returns webpage.
In the March 5th report, we provided instructions for how to use PTAGIS to look up PIT tag detections of adult steelhead at the mainstem Salmon River array located 11 miles upstream of Salmon, ID. Since then, we have updated this graph each week. Below is the latest update, showing that 89 PIT tags were detected during the past week from March 19 to March 25.
Figure showing PIT tag detections of adult steelhead at the USE site (11 miles upstream of Salmon, ID) between 1/01/2024 and 3/25/2024.
(report by Brent Beller – IDFG)
