04/27/24 Fishing Report (bottom of page)
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone Stream
Species
Rainbow Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Bull Trout (few)
Steelhead (Stocked as smolt and a
few streamborn fish)
Location
North Central Idaho
Size:
Medium to Large
Nearest Towns
Salmon
Challis
Season
Upper Salmon River Steelhead
season closes April 30.
Access:
Good
Special Regulations
Yes
Non-Resident License
State of Idaho
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Fly Fishing Gear, Tackle and Flies
Stream Flow Data:
USGS Real Time Data (Salmon)
.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing The Upper Salmon River Idaho: The Upper Salmon River begins in the Sawtooth mountains of Idaho and flows generally north to Challis where highway #93 and #75 join. From there the river flows north with highway #93 following nearby all the way to Salmon, about 145 miles from its beginning. It continues north for 45 more miles to where it joins the North Fork of the Salmon River. The North Fork flows westward and picks up the remote Middle Fork about 30 miles from there. The entire Upper Salmon River contains wild rainbow and cutthroat trout. Their numbers are generally not considered to be equal to the other prime Idaho rainbow trout fisheries, but there are plenty of them in the river. The steelhead are a completely different thing. They come into the Lower Salmon in the Fall most years but everything is dependent on the water temperatures and water levels. It isn’t every year that they even make it to the Upper Salmon. Some years they don’t make it beyond the confluence of the Middle Fork. When the fresh sea run steelhead are in the upper river fishing can be fantastic. They will move upstream until ice stops them. When it begins to thaw in late February and early March, they continue on up the river. The faster the water warms, the faster the steelhead move upstream to their spawning grounds.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Upper Salmon River: Fly fishing the Upper Salmon River depends first and foremost on what you are fishing for. We will start with the steehead and then discuss the trout. Again, provided the steelhead are in the river, when you are fishing the spawning run in the spring, the best time is usually during April. There are many things that can affect the fishing, most importantly is the condition of the water. At that time of the year the feeder streams can be muddy for melting snow. When the Salmon River gets muddy, it is difficult to catch the steelhead because they don’t tend to stay in their normal resting places. Everything is left to blind casting. Fly anglers want be the only ones fishing for them. Most of the guys and gals will be using hardware. When they start to catch steelhead, you should be able to catch them on the fly. Otherwise you may want to stick to trout fishing. The steelhead season ends April 30 When conditions are perfect, the water is clear and you can see the steelhead, most of the fish caught are actually caught when they are spawning or on the redds. The fish are caught using sight fishing techniques. That would normally be a terrible thing except in this case, the steelhead are hatchery raised steelhead that don’t produce eggs that hatch. I guess you could say they fake the spawning process. They are released as smolts. They return from the ocean as partially wild steelhead. A true wild steelhead is a rare fish and should be handled with care. They should be released quickly when caught. They do not have their adipose fin clipped. All hatchery steelhead do. The adipose fin is the fin on the top back of the fish behind the dorsal fin about half way to the caudal fin or tail fin of the fish. A-run steelhead are at sea one year before they return to their spawning grounds. B-run steelhead are at sea for two years prior to spawning. Of course, they are much larger. The A-run steelhead, which are mostly all of what you may catch, average about 5 or 6 pounds. The B-run steelhead probably average 12 to 15 pounds but get even larger. They come into the Upper Salmon River only rarely. You need full sink lines although sink tip lines work in some cases. The fly needs to get down to the bottom. You can fish with a strike indicator, but it is usually better to fish down and across. We will cover the tackle and flies in our gear section. The rainbow and cutthroat trout in the Salmon River are not necessarily in every pocket, run and riffle in the river. Unless you know some likely holding spots, you will have to do a little searching. It usually doesn’t take long to find them, just don’t expect one to be in every nice looking place you come across.
05/02/21 The stream is in good shape. The stream levels are a little below normal. We are getting a few good reports from anglers fishing for trout. Steelhead season has closed. Send us an email or call us at 800 594 4726 for a recommended fly and gear list.
05/08/21 The stream is flowing at a normal level and in good shape. Trout are being caught in good numbers. There are some very good hatches taking place.
05/16/21 The stream is turning out some good catches of trout in the Salmon area. Good hatches are taking place and we continue to get some good reports from customers.
05/23/21 More good reports on trout have come in. There are some good hatches taking place.
05/31/21 The stream is low but in good shape otherwise. We received a couple of good reports from customers this past week. There are lot of insects hatching including the big stoneflies.
06/09/21 The stream is still low but we continue to get good reports from customers fishing for trout. The big stoneflies and lots of other insects are hatching good.
06/22/21 The river is low but trout are still being caught in good numbers. There is a very good Golden stonefly hatch taking place in the upper river.
07/05/21 Stream levels are still low but we continue to get good reports from customers fishing for trout. Good hatches are taking place and terrestrials are also working.
07/15/21 The stream levels are very low. We are getting a few good reports from customers fishing for trout but you have to stay low, dress to match the background and stay hidden from the trout. They still eat in low water.
07/21/21 Stream levels remain low. In spite of that, we continue to get some good reports from customers.
07/28/21 The river is still low. You will have to stay low and well hidden from the trout. There are still some good hatches and our terrestrial patterns should work good.
08/04/21 The river is up to very near a normal level thanks to some rain. We have been getting a few good reports from customers fishing for trout but should get more now.
08/13/21 The river is quite low again. You will have to make extra effort to stay hidden from the trout. There are still some good hatches and trout still eat in low water.
08/20/21 The stream levels are still low but there is a good chance of rain for the next three days. This should be a big help. We did receive two good reports from customers fishing yesterday.
08/20/21 Stream levels are still low and there is no rain forecast for the coming week, so they will likely get lower. We suggest fishing the mouths of the small tributary streams.
09/04/21 The stream is still low but we received two good reports from customers fishing for trout in spite of the low levels.
09/12/21 The river is still low as well as most all streams in the west. Trout still eat in low water and that is why we continue to get some good reports from customers fishing the stream each week.
09/22/21 Conditions remain about the same. Low water levels exist. We are still getting some good reports of trout being caught.
09/30/21 Stream levels are still low. Trout are mostly being caught at the mouths of small feeder tributary streams.
11/23/21 The stream is still low but we continue to get some good reports from customers. There are good BWO and Midge hatches and our articulated sculpin are working good.
12/04/21 We received some more good reports from customers fishing for trout this past week. Stream levels are still low but okay.
12/12/21 We did get a steelhead report from the lower section of the river. The water is cold and we are not sure how far upriver they may go this year.
12/20/21 Steelhead are in the river but the water is cold and they are not so easy to catch.
12/28/21 We still didn’t get any reports from anyone fishing for trout or steelhead. The water is low and cold. Of course we have the holidays.
01/05/22 Still no report but few if any are fishing. There are steelhead in the river but the water is cold and they are probably a little sluggish. Fish the deeper pools.
01/21/22 We still didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing. It isn’t going to be quite as cold so maybe, we will hear from some anglers.
01/29/22 Cold water has the “catching” down as we again didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing.
02/06/22 We finally received one good report from a customer fishing for steelhead. Fish slow and deep as the fish are cold and very sluggish.
02/14/22 The conditions remain okay but we didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing this past week.
02/22/22 We received one good report from a customer fishing for trout. No steelhead reports from this past week.
03/02/22 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing this past week. Conditions remain about the same and that’s cold water.
03/18/22 Conditions are good. We received one good report from a customer catching trout. Good hatches are taking place including Skwala stoneflies.
03/26/22 Conditions remain good and you should be able to catch trout. Good hatches continue to take place.
04/03/22 The river is flowing very near a normal level in good shape. You can catch trout on Midges, Skwala stoneflies and sculpin streamers.
04/11/22 March Browns are hatching as well as BWOs, midges and Skwala stoneflies. We are getting good reports on trout.
04/19/22 Conditions remain okay for trout. Good hatches continue to take place and we are still getting good reports from customers.
04/27/22 The steelhead season ends in 3 days and isn’t very good but the trout are taking flies readily. We received two reports from customers this past week.
05/05/22 The river and inlets to the small tributaries are turning out good numbers of trout. Good hatches are taking place.
05/13/22 Good hatches are taking place and dry fly fishing is starting to be good. Trout are being caught in good numbers in the Salmon area of the stream.
05/21/22 We received one good report from a customer fishing for trout. There are some good hatches coming off.
05/28/22 The river continues to turn out some good trout catches for customers. Good hatches are still taking place.
06/05/22 We continue to get some good reports from customers fishing for trout. Good hatches are taking place including Pale Morning duns, spotted sedge caddis, salmonflies, golden stoneflies and Blue-winged olives.
06/19/22 The stream is high from runoff. Check back with us. We update the Salmon River fishing report weekly.
07/07/22 It is falling fast but conditions are still not good. High water levels still exist.
07/14/22 The is down to flowing at 2000 cfs and much better shape. It should be fine this coming week. Fish the tributaries for trout, especially the mouths of the tributaries. Call or write us for the flies you should be using.
07/21/22 The stream is flowing at a good level and mostly clear. The tributary streams and the main river are turning out some good catches of trout. Good hatches continue to take place.
08/04/22 The stream level is near normal and the water clear. We received two good report from customers fishing for trout this past week. Good hatches continue to take place and our terrestrial imitations are also working good.
08/11/22 The stream is still in okay shape with good hatches taking place We received two more good reports this past week from customers fishing for trout.
08/25/22 The stream is still low but we are getting a few good reports from customers fishing for trout. The mouths of the small tributaries are good spots to try.
09/10/11 The levels are still below normal but okay. We continue to get some good reports from customers fishing for trout. Good late summer hatches are taking place.
09/23/22 We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week. Stream levels are okay and the water clear. Good late season hatches including October Caddis are taking place.
10/07/22 Stream levels are near normal and the water clear. We are getting good reports from customers fishing for trout. Good late season hatches are taking place.
10/21/22 The stream is low but we are getting some good reports from customers. There are good BWO and Midge hatches and our articulated sculpin are working good.
12/01/22 No reports of winter runs yet.
02/09/23 We received one good report from a customer fishing for trout. No steelhead reports from this past week. Conditions remain about the same and that’s cold water.
02/21/22 The stream is in okay condition. Few are fishing but those that are seem to catch a few each rip. The mouths of the little tributary streams are good place to try.
03/07/23 We haven’t receive any recent reports but you should be able to catch trout near the mouths of the tributaries and well as in the tributary streams.
03/29/23 We received one good report from a customer catching trout. Good hatches are taking place including Skwala stoneflies. This coming week should be a good one.
04/05/22 More good reports came in from customers fishing for trout. The conditions are good.
04/13/22 We received one good report from a customer fishing for trout this past week. Fish the mouths of the little tributaries.
04/22/23 Good hatches are taking place. We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week.
05/22/23 Conditions are good. Lots of insects are hatching. We received another good report this past week.
05/20/23 The stream is very high and badly stained due to runoff.
05/29/23 The stream is down but still a little above normal level and mostly clear. Good hatches are taking place.
06/09/23 Stream levels are still a little high and the water stained. Fish the mouths of the small tributaries.
06/18/23 The stream is still high from runoff. Give it some more time to drop and clear.
06/29/23 The stream is down and in good shape. Good hatches are taking place including Golden stoneflies. You should be able to catch some nice trout. Let us hear from you.
07/09/23 Conditions remain good. Good hatches and good water levels. Check out our flies: https://perfectflystore.com/flies/
07/17/23 The stream is flowing just a little below a normal level and clear. We received two god reports from customers fishing for trout. Good hatches are taking place.
07/25/23 Fish the tributaries for trout, and especially the mouths of the tributaries. We received two good reports from customer fishing this past week.
08/03/23 The stream is turning out some good catches of trout for our customers. Look for cover and fish along the banks, and the mouths of the tributaries.
08/10/23 The stream is still in good shape level wise, and flowing mostly clear. Trout are being caught along the banks in places and at the mouths of small tributaries and well as the tributaries.
08/19/23 Conditions remain good. We are still getting some good reports from anglers fishing for trout.
08/27/23 The main stream and small tributaries are still in good shape with good hatches taking place.
09/03/23 The stream is a little above normal but normal during the summer is low, so it is in good shape. Good hatches continue to occur and we continue to get a few reports.
09/10/23 The stream is a little below normal and clear. We received two good reports from anglers fishing the mouths of little tributary streams. Good hatches are still taking place.
09/17/23 The stream is still turning out some nice catches of trout especially at the mouths and in the small tributaries.
10/01/23 The stream is in good shape with good hatches taking place. We received a good report from a customer fishing yesterday.
10/08/23 Another good report from a customer fishing for trout came in from the past week. Conditions are good. October caddis are hatching.
10/24/23 The stream is in good shape flowing near a normal level and clear. Good late season hatches are still taking place.
11/02/23 Stream levels remain near normal and in good shape.
11/09/23 We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week. Stream levels are okay and good late season hatches continue to come off.
11/15/23 Conditions remain good.
12/04/23 We still don’t have any reports from anyone fishing for trout or steelhead the past two weeks.
01/04/24 We received one good report from a customer fishing for trout. Fish the mouth of the little feeder streams.
01/21/24 We did not receive any reports from anyone fishing I assume due to the cold water and ice.
02/01/24 We did received one good report from a customer fishing for steelhead this past week. Fish slow and deep as the fish are cold and very sluggish.
02/14/24 We received one good report from a customer fishing for steelhead this past week. Fish slow and deep as the fish are cold and very sluggish.
02/22/24 We didn’t receive any report from anyone this past week.
03/02/24 The stream is flowing at a normal level and clear. We received a good steelhead catch report from a customer fishing yesterday.
03/09/24 The stream is flowing at a normal level with clear water. We didn’t get any reports from anyone fishing this past week but you should be able to catch steelhead.
03/16/24 The stream is still in good shape and clear. We received one good report from a customer catching steelhead.
03/23/24 The stream is still flowing in okay shape with mostly clear water. We didn’t receive any reports but steelhead are in the river.
03/30/24 The stream is still flowing at a normal level. We received one good report on steelhead and another one on trout. Good hatches are taking place.
04/06/24 The stream is still in okay shape. We received one other steelhead report from a customer fishing this past week.
04/13/24 The stream is high and stained. We didn’t get any steelhead reports. Trout fishing should start being good soon.
04/21/24 The stream is still high and stained. Good hatches are taking place and you should be able to catch trout.
04/28/24 Conditions remain about the same as last week. You should be able to catch trout. Let us hear from you.
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations.