The Steelhead Angler

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I was finally able to make a trip down to the Salmon River Saturday November 29, 2008 and had a great time. While I have missed the main push of steelhead that migrates up the Salmon River, I did manage to catch a couple of nice Steelies.

Steelhead fishing at Riggins is always a hit and miss type of deal you never know when the wind is going to blow. Saturday was a perfect day for fishing though, overcast with high clouds and not a single breeze. The river was crystal clear, I would have like to seen some color to it but this late in the year, and with no rain, it was what I was expecting.

With the clear conditions of the river, my fishing partner Randy and I both knew that it was going to be tough to get the steelhead that are leery to hit. Therefore, we both decided to try jig fishing for them. As it turned out we made a good choice and we both had fair success with this method.

I tied on a 1/8 ounce jig with a black body and orange head and since we have fished this spot for years, I knew I needed to be about six and a half feet deep so I adjusted the bobber stop for that depth. Randy who had just come back from fishing the Clearwater a couple of days before was setup and ready to fish so he was the first to get his line wet. He was using the same type of jig but with a white head.

As I turned to walk down to the river, I hear Randy say there he is, his second cast tied him into a nice buck steelhead that was thirty inches long and may have weighed nine or ten pounds. Since it is getting so, late into the season, head did not perform any of those famous aerial acts for us but it did give him a good tussle. Well maybe this clear water is not so bad after all ten minutes into the day and we have a steelhead on the bank.

We continued to fish for the rest of the day and while fishing is not what I would call hot it was productive we were getting a hit about every hour or so and ended the day with hooking into six fish. Yes Randy did out fish me this trip he hooked four to my two, I will make it up the next time we get a chance to go though.

While as the weather continues to cool off and less and less steelhead angler brave the conditions I find that steelheading will remain fair until we get the spring rush as the steelhead again start moving into their spawning grounds. If you want to be able to have the river mainly to your self these next three month are some of the best times to head out. The Steelhead will remain in the river and as long as there is no bottom ice, you will be able to hook into them every now and then.
Until next time!

Steeelhead fishing has started to pick up here in Idaho. With the cooler temperatures and some recent rains the steelhead are on the move. The Steelhead are now being caught throughout the entire salmon river. With the larger B-run steelhead showing up also, things are becoming interesting again.

The Clearwater River is probably your best bet if you are looking for the B-run Steelhead although there are a few showing up on the main stream of the Salmon River. I have caught a couple of the larger b-run fish just below Riggins. I am not sure how far up the river they have made it yet. (So much River to fish and so little time.)

Fall is my favorite time to fish for these magnificent fish. The water temperatures are relatively warm and the steelheads metabolism has not slowed do to the colder water. When you are, fortunate enough to hook into one they give you an excellent battle and as any of you know who have hooked one yourself, this time of year the steelhead become aerobatic when hooked. You can expect them to jump five or six times and they normally clear the water by a foot or more. Not to mention the fact that during this time of year the steelhead are excellent to eat. Your biggest dilemma will be which steelhead you are going to keep and which ones to release.

Drifting a medium sized corky with a small piece of shrimp and yarn has proven to be the most successful for me. However many steelhead anglers here locally are using a float and jig setup and are have good success with them as well. Like always we all have are preferred ways of fishing steelhead and right now, the main thing is just get on the river.

Here it is the middle of September and I believe many of us are awaiting the steelhead to arrive in our favorite river. Well there is good news they are nearly here and the numbers right now are looking good too. As of September 14, 2008 nearly 48,000 Steelhead have crossed Lower Granite Dam, which is the last dam they cross before entering Idaho. Compared to 23,000 for the same time last year the numbers look very good. Over the next couple of weeks steelhead fish will be picking up here in Idaho and with some rain forecast for later this week the steelhead will really start to move.

Steelhead anglers are doing well on the lower Snake River and the Lower Clearwater rivers all ready with catch rates in the 6 to 8 hours per steelhead caught. Those are good catch rates for the first part of the steelhead season. With over 2,000 fish per day crossing over Lower Granite Dam it will not be long before fishing gets very hot.

I have heard of a couple of steelhead being hooked on the salmon river near Riggins. Although I have not been able to confirm this I do know that Bass anglers usually catch a few steelhead every year during the early fall. I would imagine that that is what is happening now.

The late summer early fall bass fishing on the salmon river does produce some nice small mouths every year and it is not fished as hard as other spots here in Idaho. So if you want to get out this weekend take along some bass gear as well. Bass jigs work very well for the steelhead as many of you know.

I guess it is time to get out my gear and get it ready for what at this point looks to be an exciting year. Hope to see you on the River shortly.