Hi everyone, this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for April 1, 2025. The data discussed in this report was collected between Monday, March 24 and Sunday, March 30.
Steelhead angler effort along the Upper Salmon River continued shifting upstream last week. Angler effort increased significantly near the Pahsimeroi River confluence in location code 17 and even more so upstream of the East Fork Salmon River in location code 19. Outside of these areas, angler effort was noticeably lower than in previous weeks.
The best average catch rates last week were observed in location codes 17 and 19. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 averaged 17 hours per steelhead caught, while those interviewed upstream of the East Fork in location code 19 averaged 5 hours per steelhead caught. In contrast, anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 32 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of the East Fork in location code 18 averaged 39 hours per steelhead caught. No anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork in location code 14 or downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 reported catching a steelhead.
River conditions varied by location last week. Warm weather during the middle of the week led to increased flow and reduced visibility in the downstream areas, with river temperatures reaching the low 50s near North Fork by Wednesday. River conditions upstream of the East Fork remained relatively stable throughout the week though, with clear visibility and water temperatures in the low 40s on Sunday.
Last week, PIT-tagged steelhead continued to cross the PIT tag array near Elevemile, upstream of Salmon, ID, though daily detections have started to decline. Below is the updated figure. Directions for querying this data were included in the March 11th steelhead fishing report which can be found by clicking here.
As of Thursday, March 27, the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery has trapped 1,138 adipose-clipped steelhead, and as of Monday, March 31, the Pahsimeroi Hatchery has trapped 1,785 adipose-clipped steelhead. For up-to-date return numbers to either of these hatcheries, anglers are encouraged to check the IDFG Steelhead Hatchery Returns webpage.
-IDFG-
