Blogs

The steelhead season officially closes on the 30th of April, though fishing has been over for some time. The river has been high and muddy for a while, though fishing usually winds down in the Salmon area by early April.

This was a disappointing spring fishing season. There were some days of off-color water, but not unusually so. It just seemed like there weren't many fish, in spite of expectations. We'll start over in mid-October.

By July the Middle Fork of the Salmon will be at a level to provide good dry-fly fishing for cut-throat trout, and continue through September. We have space available on many trips. Call for details.

The Middle Fork of the Salmon spiked to 7.6 on the 27th, due to a few days of very warm weather followed by rain. That was much higher than any records. Cool, clearing weather has the river dropping steadily for a couple of days, and the river is now in the low 5s. The Main Salmon was also very high, but now dropping. Basin wide, snowpack is a little below average, but the headwater of the Middle Fork are still near normal. Spring is a little ahead of normal. Cottonwoods leafed out about a week early near our house. Balsamroot is blooming, and other spring flowers are out. Elk are leaving the lower elevations.

The river should be at a comfortable boating level by mid-late June. Hopefully there will be enough rain and cool weather to maintain the level of the Middle Fork through the summer. The Main Salmon will be fine in late summer.

There is a rumor that the new rapid at Black Creek on the Main Salmon has changed over the winter, and the recent high flow may have changed it some more. We'll know for sure later in the summer.

We still have space available on many trips this summer. Call for details.

River temperature 44 degrees in mid-morning, 50 at end of the day,visibility below the Lemhi about 15-18 inches, slight improvement through the day. Water clarity is better above the Lemhi.

24 March 2012

Recent rains have put the river off-color below Salmon. This morning the river temperature was 45 degrees, about 15 inches visibility, below the Lemhi. I rescheduled today's fishermen.

21 March 2012; river temperature below Salmon was 44 degrees at the end of the day. The river is clearing up a little, with 2 1/2-3 feet visibility. Success seems to be picking up a little. Weather is supposed to be improving in the next few days.

19 March 2012

Steelhead fishing in the Salmon area has been slow for several days. River temperature was in the 30s in early March. Warmer water in the 40s starts the spring movement into the spawning areas, and fishing in the Salmon area improves. There have been some afternoons with river temperature into the mid-40s. Today the river was 41 degrees at mid-day. Recent storms have resulted in runoff. The Lemhi river is brown, and the Salmon River below the Lemhi is off-color, with less that a foot visibility. Above the Lemhi the river is better, off a little but fishable. The weather is supposed to clear mid-week, and probably the river will clear as well. I expect downriver fish to start arriving in the Salmon area in good numbers and that we would have good fishing into the first part of April. The mild winter has resulted in very little valley snow to melt and dirty the river.

Every spring there are some people who wait until they hear the fishing is hot, then plan a trip, and by the time they get here it is too late. We don't have a lot of time left. Don't miss the boat.

Several days of stormy weather has increased snowpack in the Salmon River basin to 96% of average this morning. Snowpack in mid-January had dropped into the low 50s, then a good storm brought it back into the 80s, with up and down since. Generally we lose a per cent per day between storms. The winter has been so mild that there has been very little valley snow, and a perception has arisen that there is so little snowpack that there will be low water this summer. While we are still below average, we are close. Spring conditions--warm and dry or cool and wet--will make the difference on river levels this summer.

Early June on the Middle Fork of the Salmon will likely be fairly high water, with more moderate flow by late June. We may get through July before we start flying into Indian Creek. We have space available on many trips.

11 March 2012

The Salmon River below Salmon was off-color, about 15 inches visibility at mid-day, but clearing somewhat through the afternoon, fishable. River temperature reached 45 degrees in late afternoon. Gusty wind made fishing difficult. Fishing has been slow lately but as the river temperature climbs into the 40s fish will begin to move into the Salmon area from down river and success will pick up. The limit for the spring was raised to six fish per day recently in anticipation of a lot of hatchery fish.

26 February 2012: Snowpack in the Salmon River basin this morning is 84% of average, after several stormy days. Snowpack was good until early December, then there were six dry weeks, then a good storm in mid-January that brought the snowpack back up to the mid-80s, then a decline to the low 70s, and now back up to the mid-80s, with up-coming stormy weather predicted.

Assuming a typical spring, this should mean that June trips would be more viable this year. The Middle Fork access road ought to open by the beginning of June, with high but runable water levels then, and a more moderate level by later in June. With a lower snowpack, of course, late summer trips on the Middle Fork will entail flying into Indian Creek. Main Salmon trips aren't greatly affected by water level.

22 February 2012

Steelhead are being caught in the Salmon area. The Deadwater ice jam below North Fork went out last night. Today river temperature was 38 degrees, visibility about a foot and a half at mid-day, between Salmon and North Fork. We've had a couple of days of rain, on frozen ground, so quite a bit of runoff, and I expect the river to mud up for a while, but since there is almost no snow on the flats on the valley floor, I think the river will clear up quickly when the rain stops. Snow line is 5500-6000 feet--in the foothills.