Salmon River Fishing Guides and Conditions, Idaho

About the Salmon River

The Salmon rises in the Sawtooths, runs east then north past Stanley, Challis and Salmon, then turns west through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness to the Snake at the Oregon line. It is the longest river contained entirely within a single state outside Alaska, and it drains the largest roadless area in the lower forty-eight.

Two fisheries matter. In summer the river and its tributaries are a westslope cutthroat and rainbow fishery, best from Stanley down through Challis, fished on foot from the highway and by raft on the multi-day wilderness stretches. Cutthroat here rise freely to attractor dries and the fishing is as much about the setting as the size of the fish. In fall and spring the river becomes a steelhead river, and the runs of B-run fish that travel eight hundred miles from the Pacific to reach Idaho are the reason many anglers know the name at all. Chinook seasons open in some years depending on returns.

Steelhead and salmon seasons on the Salmon are set annually from run forecasts and change from year to year, sometimes substantially. Anyone planning a trip needs the current rules, and a permit is required for the wilderness float sections.

The Salmon-town gauge reads the upper and middle river. Snowmelt drives a large spring peak that makes the river unfishable for wading and demanding for boats; by midsummer it drops into good shape, and fall flows are low, clear and ideal for swinging flies.

Stanley, Challis, Salmon and Riggins are the towns. Riggins is the steelhead center; Stanley is the summer trout base.

Access

Stanley and the Sawtooth Valley: upper river access and the top of the trout water.
Sunbeam and Torrey's: middle upper river accesses on Highway 75.
Challis and the Highway 93 corridor: numerous pullouts and boat ramps.
Salmon: town access near the gauge, outfitters and lodging.
Corn Creek: the launch for the Middle Fork and Main Salmon wilderness floats, permit required.
Riggins and the lower river: the center of the fall and spring steelhead fishery.

Seasons

March through May: spring steelhead on the lower river; runoff builds on the upper.
June and July: high snowmelt, wilderness raft season begins as it drops.
August and September: prime cutthroat fishing, low clear water, the best wading of the year.
October through December: fall steelhead, cold mornings, the classic Idaho swing season.