Steelhead Fishing on the Salmon River

Cold temps & rising water = outstanding steelhead fishing! This am’s 38 degrees on the Salmon River coupled w/ recent downpours ensure a good run.  Are you here yet?

Steelhead count over Lower Granite Dam as of Oct 11 is a whopping 168, 557 YTD, and another 50,336 for wild, according to http://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/7day-ytd_Adults.htm . Already, the count is better then the ten year average.

The recent turn in the weather to cooler temperatures, this is going to be another great week for steelhead on Idaho rivers. Anglers can be spotted up and down the Salmon River, in boats and from the banks of the river.  A recent report from Idaho Fish & Game reads: "Anglers are doing well using brad's lighted squigglers at night and hot lip lures or mag warts during the day. Bobbers with ducktail jigs and shrimp is another good set up."

All Idaho steelhead are summer run fish, which means they leave the ocean in the late summer, with most of the fish arriving in Idaho by early fall. These fish will then spend the winter in the Snake, Salmon and Clearwater Rivers, and spawn the following spring.

Here at the park, we still have camping and rv-ing availability for spaces along the River, AND the good news is that spaces for Winter Storage are still available.  Give us a holler, and we'll get you in!

Get Ready for Fall

Cooler Idaho weather on the Salmon River is good for fishing!  Steelhead season opened up Sept 1st, and 'tis expected to be an excellent season.  Today's weather forecast will bring sunshine and warmer temps - into the high 80's or low 90's - but cool nights (50 degrees or so).

A grandparent's best camping pals

We've had wonderful guests this summer...from Germany, Florida, Montana, to local families from Grangeville, Cottonwood, Boise and Spokane.

We will get back to regular posts and keep you informed on local happenings, and beyond!

STEELHEAD COUNTS 2X the 3 YR AVERAGE!

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/steelhead/dam_count.cfm

Now you know why anglers are swarming along the banks of the Salmon River! Fish counts over Lower Granite are twice the three year average.

The good news is that the White Bird area is still fairly quiet in contrast to Riggins and other 'combat fishing' areas.

FALL FISHING and MORE

Fall weather has arrived in north central Idaho on the Salmon River with cool nights and daytime temps in the 50's-60's, and the steelhead anglers are in heaven! Know why? Because they're catching steelhead fish like never before. It's almost like the fish are jumping into boats - naw...just kidding. But fishermen are saying they can see the fish in the river and there's lots to choose from. The hatchery steelhead counts at Lower Granite in the past five days have ranged from 4,500 to 6,600 - that's per day! (here's the link: http://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_Adults.htm)

Now, that's a reason to enjoy the camping accommodations at Swiftwater RV Park - we're right on the Salmon River, in Idaho, and right where the action is! 208.830.2700 to check availability for spaces. We take 'em all - big rigs, small trailers, tenters. For non-fishing spouses, we have free tv, free wifi, a laundromat (well - not that we want spouses to be stuck doing the laundry, but just in case the dirty clothes pile up), a book exchange, great walks nearby, and a nice front row seat to watching the action on the river.

Steelhead education: 'Wild' steelhead are a subset of steelhead and are counted separately from hatchery steelhead at Corps dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Wild steelhead are identified as fish with an intact adipose fin. However, a small number of hatchery fish may not have had their adipose fin removed. - As you might guess, that text is straight out of the IDFG text book!

Leave a comment - would like to hear from you!

LETS GO FISHING !

The fish are jumping, literally, on the Salmon River, and fishermen are beginning to seriously toss their lines in the river attempting to reel in a steelhead. More jet boats are cruising along, and bank fishermen are starting to dot the sides of the river. Folks are beginning to catch ‘keepers’, and one that I saw was over 25” long. One guy reportedly has caught 24 already this week - can that be real - WOW!!

STEELHEAD FISH ARE COMING!

The 2009 Steelhead fishing season open up on this part of the Salmon River on September 1st! If you need to brush up, or learn about the fees, rules, etc., visit the Idaho Fish & Game (IDFG) website: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/fees.

IDFG is reported in late July that the "The smallmouth bass fishing continues to be good in the Snake and Lower Salmon rivers. The bass have been averaging 8-12", but there are some bigger fish around for the lucky or persistent angler. Curly tail grubs and small crank baits are the standard offerings."

Interesting read from the Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife News Bulletin, August 14th:
Folks that monitor the fish counts at Columbia-Snake river hydro projects did a double take Wednesday when the Tuesday steelhead tally at Bonneville Dam was displayed online by the hydro project's operators, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

There were 18,671 upriver summer steelhead counted climbing the dam's fish ladders that day, which fisheries managers believed was the highest daily total ever recorded since the construction of Bonneville Dam was completed in 1938.
Read more at: http://www.cbbulletin.com/350377.aspx

RAFTING: Had to toss in a picture of the guys. Today Al, Aras, and Dave G. headed south to Riggins for a fun day of rafting on the Salmon River, guided by Gary Lane of Wapiti River Guides (http://www.doryfun.com/). Can you tell that Dave used to be a professional basketball player?!

MORE FISH COUNTS

If you just can't stand it, and want more data about fish counts, this link takes you to a chart offering a ten year history, providing cumulative Steelhead counts for both Bonneville and Lower Granite dams:

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/steelhead/history.cfm

FALL STEELHEAD FISHING

Idaho Fish & Game (IDFG) is already commenting on the Fall Salmon Season. They report that as of late July, over 3,500 steelhead have been counted at Lower Granite Dam and some are already in the lower Clearwater River where they are waiting for the Snake River to turn colder before continuing their migration.

And if you want to know more about steelhead, IDFG writes: "All Idaho steelhead are summer run fish, which means they leave the ocean in the late summer, with most of the fish arriving in Idaho by early fall. These fish will then spend the winter in the Snake, Salmon and Clearwater Rivers, and spawn the following spring.

Fish managers have broadly grouped Idaho steelhead into two types, which we have termed A-run, and B-run. A-run steelhead originate mainly from the Snake and Salmon Rivers and typically spend one or two years in the ocean, returning as 5 to 10 pound adults. B-run fish originate primarily from the Clearwater River, and typically spend two to three years in the ocean, returning as 10 to 20 pound adults." source: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/reports/clearwater.cfm

The fish count for steelhead over the dams continues to hold strong, making us think it might be a hot season coming this Fall for steelhead. Keeping track of the fish counts over the dams is recorded by IDFG and can be viewed daily at this web link: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/fish/steelhead/dam_count.cfm. The graph for Bonneville Dam is impressive. Check it out!