Upper Salmon River Fall 2024 Steelhead Fishing Update (10 08 2024)

Hi everyone, IDFG creel employees began interviewing steelhead anglers along the Upper Salmon River last Thursday (October 3rd). Angler effort and catch were low during the first weekend of monitoring, but both were at levels higher than what we have observed during the first week of October since 2015.

Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in river location code 14 averaged 89 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in river location code 15 averaged 42 hours per steelhead caught. We only recorded 14 hours of angling effort downstream of the Lemhi River in river location code 16, but one angler did report releasing a steelhead from this area which resulted in an average catch rate of 14 hours per steelhead caught. We are expecting catch rates to improve considerably over the next couple weeks as more steelhead make their way upstream of Corn Creek.

The Salmon River's visibility was excellent throughout last week, but flows continued to be well below average. Currently, the Salmon River is flowing at 810 cfs through the town of Salmon, ID which is 67 percent of average for today's date. Water temperatures were in the mid-50's throughout last week before dropping to near 50°F on Sunday.

In addition to the new rapid below Owl Creek that was mentioned in last week's report, anglers wanting to fish downstream of Panther Creek during the coming weeks should be aware of the Garden Fire currently burning to the southwest of the Panther Creek confluence. Smoke from this fire settled into the river canyon over the weekend, and visibility was under a half mile on Sunday in some areas. Anglers should be prepared for the possibility of changes to the closure area and the presence of fire traffic when heading downstream of North Fork (Red Rock/Black Eagle and Garden Fire Closures 10-05-2024). Additionally, the Cadigan camping area (~1.5 miles upstream of Spring Creek Campground) is closed to the public while it is being used for a fire camp. For current information regarding the Garden Fire, please follow this link to the fire's InciWeb page.