Salmon river

[Trout_Man]

Any new reports on Steelhead on the salmon river, from Carmen to Shoup? I'm getting antsy!
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[MadRussian]

I was shocked at all the ice still covering the majority of the river above North Fork. There are still some ice bridges in the Shoup area and down below Panther creek. I fished Friday and part of Saturday below Owl creek and landed 2 wild Steelies. I was fishing off an ice shelf that reached out 50 over the water. I did see 2 other wild fish caught and 3 hatcherys in the area. The 47 degree highs both days will help clear out the ice quickly but there is still plenty to go. I am going to wait another couple of weeks before heading down there again. The weather and scenery are always worth the trip anyway!
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[ductaped4runner]

I messed around today all the way from above dead water down to challis. LOTS AND LOTS of ice. not as much from above challis to below salmon. caught a few fish but no steehead.
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[ID_SHKID]

Lots of folks from out of town showed up this weekend throwing huge tower of power floats and big leads on top of holes that have fished well all winter..... Needless to say fishing slowed compared to what I was seeing and experiencing.
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[Huntsman]

The average day of Deadwater breaking loose is around the 25th of February. That magical date usually helps the of start clearing the River from ice, and also kicks the fish into their spring migration cycle. This isn't to say that you won't catch fish prior to Deadwater busting loose, as we've had a bunch of double-digit per angler days, both above and below DW, but not like after DW goes out....

Remember, that when DW busts loose, you'll have a few days for the water below to clear. Hint - fish the stretch from DW to Red Rock, and the s can be common!
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[Trout_Man]

Thanks for all the info, ready to get up there. Probably be up there the first or sec weekend of march though. I heard the run is supposed to be better than last year. Anyone hear the same? We did pretty well last year though.
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[psanders71]

Took my son and daughter up yesterday for the day... pretty friggin cold! Guides were icing up pretty consistently.
Did manage to get my son into his first steelie. A beautiful, 30 inch, native hen caught downstream from Salmon. Drifting eggs is what worked!
Was really surprised by the amount if ice between Salmon and N. Fork as we could not fish some spots I really wanted to. Clear water and little ice from Salmon upstream. Much different from this same time last year!
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[SalmonRiverID]

[quote Huntsman]The average day of Deadwater breaking loose is around the 25th of February.[/quote] Great post on Deadwater. It's not meant to be this year, though. We've put up quite a few photos of Salmon River ice conditions today. The NOAA Weather & Ice spotter provided some great photos and the mgmt @ The Village at North Fork took some shots this morning of the North Fork boat ramp. I'm sure you'd enjoy seeing them here:

http://www.salmonriveridaho.net/2012/12/...story.html

http://www.salmonriveridaho.net/2013/02/...cedes.html

Of course, all eyes are on Deadwater. Scuttle butt sez this year it might not happen for as long as two weeks. One seasoned Old Hand sez it'll break up before this Friday.
The Village at North Fork people and the IDFG Staff @ Salmon say they will keep us posted practically the second they learn it's cut loose. We're trying to get someone to take a video. It's always a Big Day when Deadwater breaks up!

Happy Fishing, John Parsons
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