The Steelhead Angler

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Just when I thought the Little Salmon River was going to come in we started to receive some rain and the river has blown out again. I did make a trip down to the river Tuesday and hooked into a fish but I fished al day and it was the only hit that I got.

The river is as high as I’ve seen it in years and the one fish I did hooked got out in the current and if you have ever fished for Chinook salmon you know what happened next.

Yep it was like trying to stop a D-8 cat from running down a frozen cliff you hold on and hope for a miracle. Even with 40lb test line I was unable to even slow it down let alone turn him. In about thirty seconds he had striped off most of my line and was headed back to the Ocean. It was exciting but the battle if you want to call holding on for everything you got a battle, did not last long and I had to admit defeat before I even got started.

With the river running as high and fast as it is fishing is really tough you use three ounces of weight to even touch the bottom and your line drifts through the hole in about ten seconds. Most of your day will be spent casting that is when you are not tying up a new rig because when you do hit bottom with that much weight it usually finds a way to crawl under some rock and you end up leaving your rig to the river gods. Yet even with conditions the way they are I can’t wait to get back on the river after all it is Chinook salmon season.

If you do not like spending your day casting and tying rigs you may want to hold off for a week or two before you head down. There is however always plunking if you don’t want to fight the current river condition. I have had some pretty good luck with this technique of fishing over the years.

For those of you that are not familiar with plunking it is setting up with a heavy weight as a drop sinker and using a spin and glow with eggs or a similar lure casting it out in a deep pool and then you just sit and wait for the fish to find it. When condition are like the are this is a very good technique plus while your waiting for a fish you have time to relax and tell some fishing stories with you buddies.

Well I’ll keep watching the river and let you know as things develop but for right now fishing is tough.

RR Smith

Steelhead, Salmon and Trout Fishing Gear

The good the bad and the uglyWell the good news for chinook salmon anglers here in Idaho is the resent cold spell is beginning to have a positive effect on the river flows as most rivers here in Idaho are starting to drop back to almost fishable levels.

The Little Salmon River which was running at 5,600 cfs as dropped back to 3,200 cfs and although the Main Salmon has not done as well has dropped from 92,000 cfs to 65,000 which is still way above the normal flow of around 40,000 cfs for this time of year. The Clearwater is dropping but it is even slower in coming down then the Main Salmon.

The bad thing about this is that the cooler temperatures which help to drop the rivers has also dropped the river temperatures which is slowing the migration of the salmon and this is through out the entire river system from Bonneville Dam too the hatcheries. I’m hoping that when the temps stabilize or start to rise back up we will see a surge in their migration.

Now for the ugly part while the rivers have started to drop they are still very brown in color and this makes things even more difficult for the angler as salmon seem to strike out of a natural instinct and not because the are feeding, if they are not able to see your hook then you do not trigger their instinct to strike.

There are some tricks you can use to help in these conditions like using scents, or a lure set up that will make some type of noise or vibration. They help but when the salmon go into a holding pattern there is no sure fire way of hooking into one except for being persistent and keeping something out in the river and hope that one will swim into your offering.

Don’t despair things will pick up and when they do we should have some pretty fair fishing at least it will be better then we have had in the last couple of years.

Steelhead Gear.Com   http://www.steelhead-gear.com/

Just thought I do a quick update on the salmon fishing conditions for some of the rivers here in Idaho. Salmon fishing along the lower sections of the Clearwater were fair last week before the heat-wave hit and blew the river out. Fishermen were have some pretty good success from the Railroad bridge to the bridge at highway 95 which is a very popular spot for salmon anglers.The upper sections up to the Orofino Bridge were starting to produce some fish as well but anglers were having to but in some time to hook into one. The North Fork was producing as well and it is probably the only section that remains fishable as the high muddy conditions are found through out the rest of the state with the rivers at or just below flood stage.

The Salmon River from Hammer Creek to the Time Zone Bridge had fish in it but was not being fish hard as the number of salmon in the river system remained low making catching one of these great fish difficult. Fishermen were having some success from the Time Zone Bridge to Shorts Bar as the salmon normally stack up in this section waiting to move up to the Little Salmon.

The Little Salmon was high and muddy even before the heat from last week blew the river out and fishing was extremely difficult there. I do know of one Salmon caught on this section though and it weighed in at an amazing 28lbs that is huge for this section of the river although not totally unheard of.

Right now the salmon fishing is going to depend totally on the weather we need to have the rivers drop and clear some before salmon fishing will be any good if the cooler weather holds without dropping an abundant amount of rain they should start to become fishable by mid to late next week.

If you really can’t wait to get on the river and try your luck this weekend I would suggest that you make the trip up to the North Fork of the Clearwater and fish that section for right now the river is extremely high but fishable. Good luck and let’s hope the weather holds.

For a complete update on fishing conditions visit Idaho Chinook Salmon Fishing Report      http://www.steelhead-gear.com/Idaho-Salmon

Steelhead Gear.Com for all your fishing needs

While I was sitting here today hoping that the weather will cool off some so that the Salmon and Little Salmon Rivers will at least return back into their banks and hopefully clean up a little so I can go try my luck salmon fishing. I realized that Saturday is the opener for many of the states lakes and rivers.

Now with the spring runoff in full swing river fishing will diffidently be a challenge for the next few weeks if they are even fishable at all. The high land lakes well they are still frozen and it is just as well because the snow is making them all but inaccessible anyways.

I’ve been thinking about trying my luck at some of the lower laying lakes around Cascade Reservoir, Horse Thief Reservoir, and even Little Lake have been some nice producers for me early in the year. I think that with the run off coming so late this year that the feeder steams into these reservoirs will make for some pretty good fishing this weekend.

I have always had good luck fishing these local reservoirs in the spring as the trout are heading up them to start there spawning cycle. My favorite way to fish for these trout this time of year is with my fly rod while it is hard sometimes to get them to take a dry fly pattern I have done very well using small egg patterns with a sinking line. I wish I paid more attention to their names but I expect that most fly fishermen have their special pattern anyways, anything that looks like and egg, ( I do mean fish egg) or even the leach patterns work well for me. I like to fish them right at the head of a deep pole just off the ripples and making sure that they are getting close to the bottom.

I made that special note about being fish egg just for an old time friend of mine but that’s a whole other story that I should write about sometime now that I think about it.

If you have ever wanted to get into fly fishing there is no better time then now and I have a free Download to a great e-book that will get you started out on the right foot. If you are just beginning and it even has some nice pointers for those of you that have been fly fishing for awhile too. All I ask in return is that you sign up to receive an occasional promotional email from my Site at Steelhead Gear.Com you can get the free download here.

Chinook salmon fishing continues to be a very popular sport fishery even as salmon numbers drop. The fisheries managers continue to monitor salmon runs and returns to allow the sportsman every opportunity possible to fish for these magnificent fish. Fishing techniques are adjusted to avoid species whose populations are at risk such as the native or natural runs and focus on those which can sustain large-scale fishing those that have been raised and released from hatcheries. Where that is impossible, the native fish are released unharmed, allowing these endangered species to continue with their natural spawning cycles. The hatchery fish can be identified by a missing adipose fine which is clipped before their release from the hatcheries.

This year is no exception it appears that the anticipated returns are going to be down from what was supposed to have been one of the better runs in years to a run which will be capable of providing some limited fishing. As the managers monitor return numbers they are adjusting the fishing seasons and take limits and even in some cases they have closed salmon season down for the year.

Did you know that Pacific Northwest Salmon is a rich source of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fat called Omega-3 fatty acids or basically good fats? Omega-3s are found mainly in fat rich fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines.

Wild fisheries could never meet the global demand for salmon especially when you consider their dwindling habitat and in my opinion having the hatcheries is one of the best moves mangers have made to keep a fishable run. While we would all love to see the native fish flourish with politics and economical factors influencing decisions regarding their survival and habitat the natural runs continue their decline.

Fishing must be carefully managed so that salmon continue to be a harvestable resource.

RR Smith

Pacific salmon are in the genus Oncorhynchus, which contains several individual species Chinook, Coho, and Steelhead are probably the most popular. Unlike the Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon only spawn once before they die. These salmon may swim hundreds, even thousands, of miles to get back to the stream where they hatched. However, only a small percentage of salmon survive to reach their natural stream or spawning grounds. It has been estimated that today around 80% for the juvenile salmon or smolt as they are called will never survive their trip to the ocean. In the Northwest salmon normally have seasons from spring through fall this season depend entirely on the expected return numbers today.

Pacific salmon connect headwaters to the high seas, from Japan to California. The larges of these salmon are known as Chinook or King Salmon, they average 10 to 20 pounds in size, but 30 to 50 pounds is not unusual and there are occasions where they will reach nearly 100 pounds. Pacific salmon are represented by seven different species, these seven salmon species have life histories that are unique, multifaceted and vary widely within and between species.

Dams have stopped many runs from having access to the oceans where they once traveled. These areas which are scattered throughout the northwest now have what are called landlocked salmon since they mature for three years in freshwater and return to the river to spawn and die.

Pacific salmon is also farmed, but due to political reasons on a very small scale over all.

Managing salmon in the Pacific Northwest is a complex endeavor, bringing up a wide range of political, economic, legal and social issues. The cultural issues of salmon management shouldn’t be overlooked, as salmon fishing has been and continues to be a way of life for many families throughout the west. Managers need to know where their stocks move, how long they stay in different areas, and how ocean conditions affect growth and mortality. The eventual expansion of pilot studies into a full out program to reintroduce salmon back into river systems, combined with archival tagging studies, will allow scientists and managers to monitor salmon movements and habitat usage along coastal North America, from California to the Aleutian Islands, year-round. Knowing when and how salmon move, feed, and migrate will be the key to their survival if we are going to save these magnificent and mystical fish.

Salmon Gear

This article is a must read for any one who plans on making a trip to fish for Chinook Salmon on the Little Salmon River near Riggins Idaho. There have been some major changes from the past as to access on the Little Salmon and fishing is going to be even more crowded on the Little Salmon as we have been denied access to the East side of the River.

Idaho Outdoor News | Fishing the Little Salmon - 2008

Well it appears that again just when are hopes of an excellent Chinook salmon fishing season we get the final news and are now wondering if we will ever see these magnificent fish return in any kind of respectable numbers. I guess we can always hope that at some point they will but for now all I can say is maybe next year. Or maybe I was just one of the fortunate ones who still remember the time when the fish were still plentiful and the fishing pressure was nearly none existent.

Steelhead-Gear.Com

Salmon fishing to close on parts of Snake, Columbia rivers

This is a great story that was posted on the Internet and it started to get my hopes up for the anticipated spring Chinook salmon season here in Idaho this year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did enjoy!

RR Smith: Salmon, Steelhead and Trout  Fishing Gear 

Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing Can Get You Hooked - Science - redOrbit

There appears to be even more good news for salmon fishermen here in Idaho. Along with the Chinook salmon return numbers showing a vast improvement over the last several years the number of jacks that are returning to Idaho are also u; this is good news for two reasons. 

1. Having a good number of jack salmon return is a good sign that the numbers of  adult chinook salmon that will return the following year will also be good
2. This year anglers will be able to keep two jack salmon a day without them having to be counted against your season limit of 40 salmon. And the size of the jack salmon has been increased from a fish measuring less then 20″ to one which measures less then 24″. 

The weather and river flows has been playing a large role in the amount of Salmon crossing Bonneville dam during the last week one day the numbers are over 9,00 and the next day they may be down to 2,500 only to bounce back up the next day. I guess as long as the numbers stay up we can keep smiling though. 

So far I do not believe the total numbers are as good as every one was hoping but we need to remember that the run started three weeks later then normal too. 

I will continue to watch the numbers over the next several weeks and keep you informed so far thing are looking good for the Idaho salmon angler though and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will continue.

By: RR Smith
Salmon Steeelhead And Trout