Idaho Steelhead

Much like hunting spots I don't expect "help" to be to specific, but I was hoping I could get a few leads on where to go fishing for these awesome fish. While I went to college in eastern Oregon we'd often go to Minam to hook up with these beauties. 11 years later and with a 10 year old son I really want to get him more involved with the outdoors. This past year he has shown me great interest and patience even when not catching anything. I miss hearing the sound of your drag screaming, and seeing the flex in the pole. Me and my dad used to go fishing every Saturday back home in Hawaii. With the weather warming up, I'd like to start a little something my son and I can look forward to as well.

Thanks everyone.

I'm interested as well. I've tried it twice in the past 5 years. And over the next 2-3 years I'd like to get more into it. Hopefully we get some responses.

When is a good time to go? And which rivers for the spring?

Make that 3 of us watching this thread, Steelhead very high on my bucket list.
I prefer fly fishing.
Cheers
Richard

We used to go to the Salmon River around spring break back in college. Right around North Fork was pretty good, sometimes tough fishing but still fun.

The Salmon and Clearwater rivers are your best bet. Idaho F&G website usually puts up weekly catch counts, and it's broken down by river section, so not a lot of secrets as to where the fish are. Catching them is another thing though! It took me 3 trips before I landed my first steelhead, but have been pretty consistent in landing a couple the past 2 years. Good luck!

https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/steelhead/harvest

nice fish

The return of A run fish is down this year (fish that spent one year in saltwater), which is the bread and butter of the Salmon River steelhead run. There is no secret to where the fish are and when they are biting.

You'll want to learn to run jigs under a slip bobber and how to drift fish with a slinky or lead core weight if you're going to gear fish. Fly fishing is standard swing tactics with different types of line.

This year might be a tough year in the North Fork area, the roads are closed at the earliest until March 1 due to an extreme amount of avalanches, also the river has froze more than it has in about 20 years. That being said, the Salmon system is where I focus, and will run from Challis all the way to Corn Creek in the North Fork. Keep an eye on fish counts and keep a bait in the water and you should hit one.

we fish stites on the south fork Clearwater, took few trips to learn to catch them on the flyrod, for some reason I got really good at catching whitefish though,,,,

I'll offer up what I learned from fishing them every year, a lot, between 1978/79 through about 2004. Been away from it a while, but during those years, I fished them a lot (kings too from 1999-2004).

First off, in the case of steelhead, a lot like elk hunting, you'll find that about 90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the fishermen. So, keep that in mind when looking at catch rates, hours per fish, etc.

For the Salmon river around North Fork, with ice, time of year, etc. its largely a jig and bobber show. I wouldn't use a slip bobber, but rather have them fixed. I tried slip bobbers and in cold weather they're a real pain in the ass, freezing is the problem. For that reason, you'll likely need a 10 foot rod, you can get by with an 8'6 but I'd go 10. The reason for that is one, when you're not fishing a slip bobber, its nice to have the extra length. Two, it always makes mending line easier and also allows you to rip a shit-ton of slack out of the line in cases where its tough to mend line...meaning you'll miss a lot fewer fish. Also, when bobber fishing the salmon, pay real close attention on your first couple drifts, almost always will smash a fish the first couple drifts if they're in the hole. Also, its way better to start too shallow when setting your depth for two reasons: 1. You wont hang up and cost yourself fishing time re-rigging, the more your line is the water fishing, the better chance you have to catch fish. I hated wasting time re-rigging. 2. Steelhead will move UPWARD to grab a jig, but rarely do they move downward to get one. So, if you think the hole is 8 feet, I'd start at 5-6 feet and adjust from there.

Never spend much more than an hour in a hole on the Salmon, unless you're just knocking the snot out of them. If you catch a few fish in a hole and the bite stops, change your jig color, shape, etc. and fish a while longer. Many times, I've picked up a couple fish quick right after changing colors or size. Don't be afraid to fish twister tails, tube's, etc. in hot colors. I once watched a friend land 3 absolute slugs on the Clearwater on nothing but a green foam earplug.

The guys that pound it out in one hole on the Salmon will NEVER out-fish the guys that move around. Most days on the Salmon, assuming a decent run, hanging 10-30 fish a day isn't that big a deal. A big fish there will be 35, a vast majority are smaller. Cant beat the scenery, and IMO, its a much easier river to fish because of size and the fish just seem to bite better.

On the Clearwater, totally different story for the B-run fish. They are finicky and IMO, that river separate's the steelhead fishermen from the wannabe's in short order. The river is much bigger, tougher to read, and the fish are much tougher to catch. I probably fished about 50% with gear, and 50% with a jig and bobber, largely dependent on the hole, and even where in the hole. Some places I didn't fish anything but a jig bobber, some with nothing but gear, and others I fished both (although most of the time the tail-outs I almost exclusively fished with gear).

A good day on the Clearwater is 2-4 fish, a great day is anything more than that. Unlike the Salmon, my strategy was more likely to be grinding it out in one hole for at least half a day, sometimes all day. With the much bigger river, it just wasn't real possible to cover it correctly in a few hours, pretty tough to do. My better days on the main Clearwater were 10-20 fish days, personal best I hooked 26 in one day. On the Clearwater if you hook 10 fish, its seems like all you did all day was fight fish.

Water conditions really make a difference on both rivers, I always did better on a dropping and clearing river, worse when it was rising and getting muddy. If the lower river near Orifino is less than 18" visibility, I would look to fish the upper river below Clear Creek and/or the south fork. I used to fish the south fork a ton too, but its pretty well plugged up with people from what I understand. I had some pretty amazing days on that river from the confluence to Stites.

IMO/E, bait for steelhead...shrimp, roe, on the Idaho rivers is a waste of time...most of the time. It seemed that in some situations, roe would work...but I rarely used anything. Everyone has a favorite color, but for drift fishing gear, a silver corkie and a white/chartreus yarn fly was best. I always mixed in white yarn with any of my yarn flys...just seemed to sort of "glow" a bit more with maybe 2 pieces of chartreuse and 1 piece of white. Same with orange and pink. I also really liked the clown colored corkies as well. Try a selection, you never know.

Also, one thing I learned quick...the old saying "monkey see, monkey do" is something to keep in mind. If you see someone cleaning house using an old boot...go find yourself an old boot and tie it on. I've watched guys using one color, size etc. absolutely tear up the fish, while those around them using different stuff couldn't buy a fish. Use what's working, don't be stubborn.

Another piece of advice if you're going to get into this stuff full time, like I did...keep journals. Water temp, time of year, weather conditions, what you used, water levels, all that stuff. Relying on memory alone doesn't work. I often times have spent a day on the Clearwater getting my ass kicked by the steelhead, went back and read my journals to look for similar conditions. Its saved fishless trips more than a few times.

Anyway, probably a lot more than you were looking for and I admit to being a bit over the top, I took it seriously and still would if I wasn't a 16 hour drive away.

Good luck...and remember when fishing a bobber if that bobber does anything it shouldn't, set the hook. If you're fishing gear, and something isn't feeling right, set the hook.

As a good buddy of mine said one day when I got a crap hook set on one because I wasn't sure, "jerk or be one"...

A few pics:

Tools of the trade:



fish:

thats a 1000.00 worth of info at least,,,,,,,i never fished anything but a flyrod, but have seen the bobber guys fight a lot of fish while i fought bad thoughts,,,

Not going to say much other than listen to Buzz.

Steelhead are nearly like unicorns for me...

How do the steelhead out West compare to those off the Great Lakes? Fished them in MI for years and indeed there is nothing like it.

Thank you Buzz! When I YouTubed videos a lot of them were in those areas as well. The only thing I was hoping for was something closer to me.

I don't know the proper name for the setup we ran when I used to fish for them in Oregon, but it had a slip bobber with stops on both ends allowing it to move up and down some, then a lengthy leader with some weight attached to it where we guessed the bottom was, with the bait/lure attached after. Learning the difference between hitting a rock and strike as it moved down with the current was hard lol! I loved it. Seeing such big fish come out of the water was a thrill. Realizing that the fish was a native and had to be returned was a slight bummer, but the fight is something to remember always.

When I used to roof I watched several anglers wrestle in steelhead in the Boise right across the stadium. That was years ago though, and I don't know if fishing that river is allowed.

I will start looking up the rules and regs so I know.

Thank you everyone. If anybody else has any tips/advice I'm sure we are all ears. Thank you!

I have only been once and had a great time.. Tons of great info by Buzz. I went for one weekend and my buddy and I each went 1/2. We were using fly gear. If we can hook two in our first weekend trying anyone can. Good luck

Buzz has a ton of good info. Be prepared for crowded conditions in the popular spots and to be rubbing shoulders with either super great people or some total a-holes. Salmon and steelhead make some people just about lose their mind when it comes to ethics.

If you fish out of Orofino, I have a couple of tips. Be prepared to be up long before dark to get a spot on your chosen hole. Hours not minutes before sun rise. Eat burgers at the Woodlot.

This last is most important. Buy your tackle, specifically jigs from Jim Dodge, if he's still alive. Last time I was there his pregnant daughter was melting lead on the kitchen stove for pouring jig heads. While there mention wolves or co-eds at U of I in Moscow. It'll make the trip worth it! He used to offer lodging for $15/night. Cheap but a bit "Spartan"...

Have to agree with Pointer...the woodlot and chatting with Jimmy Dodge are 2 things you wont forget about fishing steelhead on the Clearwater.

Funny stuff...

LandDiver said:

Thank you Buzz! When I YouTubed videos a lot of them were in those areas as well. The only thing I was hoping for was something closer to me.

I don't know the proper name for the setup we ran when I used to fish for them in Oregon, but it had a slip bobber with stops on both ends allowing it to move up and down some, then a lengthy leader with some weight attached to it where we guessed the bottom was, with the bait/lure attached after. Learning the difference between hitting a rock and strike as it moved down with the current was hard lol! I loved it. Seeing such big fish come out of the water was a thrill. Realizing that the fish was a native and had to be returned was a slight bummer, but the fight is something to remember always.

When I used to roof I watched several anglers wrestle in steelhead in the Boise right across the stadium. That was years ago though, and I don't know if fishing that river is allowed.

I will start looking up the rules and regs so I know.

Thank you everyone. If anybody else has any tips/advice I'm sure we are all ears. Thank you!

Click to expand...

Depends on where you are coming from, but Hells Canyon can be good, even from the bank.

And, the Little Salmon can also be fun.