Steelhead fishing

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.

Today I must admit that I think the steelhead fishing on the Little Salmon River in Central Idaho for the most part was less then impressive as compared to previous years. The River Flow has finally increased to near normal spring flows but the only thing that I noticed is an increase in the number of Steelhead Fishermen and no real increase in the number of Steelhead in the river.

I just thought I would put in a quick update on the steelhead fishing at Riggins Idaho and the little Salmon River to the south. While the river has not come up to its normal spring time flows it has come up over the last week and the steelhead are stating to move on up the river. Saturday March 22 2008 I Stopped and fished a couple of holes on my way to Riggins From New Meadows I did Hook and land two steelhead in the Bolder Creek area but fishing was still fairly slow there.

Steelhead trout belong to the family Salmonidae which includes all salmon, trout, and the char. Steelhead are the anadromous form of rainbow trout which migrate to the oceans during their adult life, they then return to the same steam and rivers where they migrated from as juveniles. They are a salmonid species native to western North America and the Pacific Coast of Asia.

I was able to make another quick trip down to Riggins Idaho Wednesday I knew before I left that fishing would be tough but I just needed to get out for awhile. With high pressure setting up and the cold nights we have been having expecting any more would have been total optimism on my part.

I have received a couple of emails in regards to a resent post about Steelhead fishing on the Clearwater River in Idaho. They seemed to be intimidated by the size of river and were asking for more information on just where they should fish. For those who are new to the sport I can see why they may be confused as it is quite a large river and if you are not use to reading Steelhead water it will be intimidating. So for those wanting to know where to fish let me give you some ideas.

Ok so I have been talking a lot about fly fishing lately so I thought I would change subjects and talk about some of the techniques that I use when I am bank fishing. I know a lot of hard core Fly Fisherman will have a fit to hear that I do still use a spinning real for catching fish but I just love fishing of any kind.

Over the years I have been asked how you know when you have a hit while drift fishing for Steelhead. The true answer is you really never know for sure! When bouncing along the bottom of the river every time you bump a rock it feels something like a strike. There is a difference but until you feel it is hard to explain.

The Clearwater River in North Central Idaho is home to some of the largest Steelhead in the continental United States. It is well renowned for its Steelhead Runs along with a very Good Salmon and Cutthroat trout fishery. The Clearwater River is one of those spots that most fly fisherman only dreams of experiencing. And yet it is one of America most easily accessible rivers with Idaho State Highway 12 following it across the state.