February 21, 2008
Steelhead fishing, as one optimistic angler puts it, is great, and the catching is a bonus. In other words, the catching has been slow on the Clearwater and mediocre on the Snake River. Bait anglers are using small red cured shrimp or roe. Trollers are using dark colored plugs. Fly anglers should try big, fuzzy leeches along the bottom.
Effective January 1, 2008, it is illegal to use live shrimp as bait while fishing. See page 11 of the 2008-2009 fishing rules for clarification.
The catch and keep season on the Clearwater River upstream of the Memorial Bridge opened October 15. The fall catch and release steelhead season opened on July 1 in the Clearwater River and on August 1 on the Snake and Salmon rivers. The catch and keep season (for hatchery steelhead) opened on the Clearwater River downstream of the Memorial Bridge (~2 miles at Lewiston) on August 1 and opened on the Snake and Salmon rivers on September 1.
Know the difference between a steelhead and a salmon! Chinook salmon have a black mouth. Any salmon caught must be immediately released.
· For current information on steelhead catch rates and water conditions, please click here.
· Check the USGS Water Resources website for water flow information and water conditions.
Idaho's steelhead are often classified into two groups, A-run and B-run, based on their size and ocean life history.
Steelhead are actually rainbow trout that migrate to the ocean and return to fresh water (anadromous fish). Idaho's A-run steelhead are usually found in the Snake and Salmon rivers. They return from the ocean earlier in the year (usually June through August) and they most often return after spending one year in the ocean. Because they return early in the year and because they usually come back after only one year in the ocean, they weigh 4 to 6 pounds and are generally 23 to 26 inches in length.
The B-run steelhead most often return to the Clearwater River, but some return to tributaries in the Salmon River. These fish usually spend two years in the ocean, and start their migration to Idaho later in the summer or fall of the year (usually late August or September). Because of the extra year and the extra summer of growing in the ocean, they return as much bigger fish.
Average B-run steelhead weigh between 10 and 13 pounds and are 31 to 34 inches long. Steelhead grow very large when they spend a third year in the ocean before they return to Idaho to spawn. These steelhead are usually larger than 37 inches and often weigh more than 20 pounds. The Idaho state record steelhead was 30 pounds and was caught in the Clearwater River in 1973.
Sportsmen's Report sponsored by John and Lorraine Weiland:
Riverside Sport Shop/Sinclair
11320 U.S. Highway 12, Orofino--208-476-5418