Between the unseasonably warm weather and the smoke hanging in the valleys, last week did not feel like mid-October in Central Idaho. Despite these conditions, we did observe a noticeable increase in steelhead angler effort downstream of Salmon, ID. Normally, we would expect to see a larger increase in angler effort downstream of North Fork during the second week of October, but an expanded closure implemented last Tuesday for the Garden Fire (now rescinded) limited access to the downstream areas.

Due to the fire closure, we did not conduct creel downstream of Spring Creek from Wednesday to Saturday, so most of the interviews within location code 15 last week were from anglers between Spring Creek and North Fork. Anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 60 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 averaged 41 hours per steelhead caught. Very few interviews were obtained from downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in location code 14 or from upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17, and no anglers reported catching a steelhead from either of those areas.

In addition to the fire closure that limited access below Spring Creek, smoke from several fires in the area continued to settle into the river canyon below North Fork. This smoke likely contributed to the reduced angler effort below North Fork and increased angler effort upstream of North Fork where the smoke was less of an issue. Fortunately, a weather change is forecasted for this week with rain and cooler temperatures expected to move into the area on Wednesday. This weather change should drop river temperatures into the 40s and hopefully, clear out the smoke.

River conditions were stable throughout last week with clear visibility, water temperatures in the low-50s, and below average flows. Currently the Salmon River is flowing at 880 cfs through the town of Salmon, ID which is 69 percent of average for today’s date. With rain in the forecast for the upcoming week, we could observe increased river flows and reduced visibility by the weekend.

While fire activity is expected to decrease over the coming days, anglers should remain alert for possible changes to the closure area and the presence of fire traffic below North Fork. Anglers are reminded that the Cadigan camping area (~1.5 miles upstream of Spring Creek Campground) is currently closed to the public due to it being used as a fire camp. For up-to-date information regarding the Garden Fire, please follow this link to the fire’s InciWeb page.