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Upper Salmon River Chinook Update 10.28.25 by Brent Beller Montana Outdoor Radio Show, May 29, 2025

Hi everyone, this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for October 28, 2025, and the data discussed in this report were collected from October 20 through October 26.

We observed large increases in both angler effort and catch last week on the Upper Salmon River. Angler effort was highest downstream of North Fork in location code 15, but many boats were also on the water between Salmon and North Fork. Effort remained low upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17, although anglers had started catching steelhead in that area as well.

Catch rates improved considerably compared to the previous week and were the best so far this fall. Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in location code 14 averaged 26 hours per steelhead caught, while those interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 31 hours per steelhead caught. Downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16, anglers averaged 34 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17 averaged 29 hours per steelhead caught. With favorable weather forecasted for the upcoming week, we anticipate that fishing will continue to improve as more steelhead make their way into the area.

Below is a figure (at original site) we've been including in our weekly reports this fall that shows the cumulative number of Sawtooth Hatchery steelhead that have crossed Lower Granite Dam over the past 10 years. The figure is updated through October 26. Since last week's report, we estimate that another 1,648 steelhead destined for either the Pahsimeroi or Sawtooth hatcheries have crossed Lower Granite. This increased the conversion rate between Bonneville and Lower Granite dams for steelhead headed to those hatcheries to approximately 73%.

River conditions have remained good, with relatively stable flows and clear to slightly cloudy visibility depending on the area. Water temperatures continued to slowly decrease. They were in the mid-40s over the weekend and are now in the low-40s as of this morning. The Salmon River is flowing at 1,340 cfs through the town of Salmon which is 102% of average for today's date. Related Pages:
Count the Fish Sockeye adult returns from 1977 to the present.