Clearwater River Fishing Guides and Conditions, Idaho

About the Clearwater River

The Clearwater drains the Bitterroot front in north central Idaho and joins the Snake at Lewiston. Its reputation rests on one thing: the B-run steelhead. These fish spend two years in the ocean instead of one and come back at sizes that no other inland fishery in the lower forty-eight matches, with fish in the mid-teens common in a good year and twenty-pounders a real possibility. Fly anglers swing for them from October into December and again in spring, and the river has become a pilgrimage.

Beyond steelhead, the Clearwater system is excellent trout water. The North Fork below Dworshak Dam is a cold tailwater, and the Lochsa and Selway, which join to form the Middle Fork at Lowell, are among the best westslope cutthroat rivers anywhere: wilderness-quality water along Highway 12 with big cutthroat that eat dry flies all summer. The main stem below Orofino also holds a good smallmouth population that most visitors ignore.

Seasons and rules for steelhead and chinook are set annually from run forecasts and can change or close, so check current regulations rather than assuming last year’s dates apply.

The Spalding gauge reads the whole system near the mouth. This is a big river; flows in the several thousand to tens of thousands of cfs range are normal, with a heavy spring snowmelt peak. Fall steelhead flows are moderate and clear, which is why the swinging season is so well regarded.

Lewiston, Orofino and Kamiah are the towns. Lewiston is the lowest-elevation city in Idaho and has a mild enough climate to make a December steelhead trip pleasant.

Access

Lewiston and the Snake confluence: the bottom of the river, ramps and lodging.
Spalding and the Nez Perce National Historical Park: access near the gauge.
Lenore and Peck: middle river boat ramps in prime steelhead water.
Orofino and the North Fork confluence: access below Dworshak Dam.
Kamiah and Kooskia: upper main stem accesses.
Lowell, Lochsa and Selway: Highway 12 access to the cutthroat forks.
Parts of the river run through the Nez Perce Reservation; tribal rules apply in places.

Seasons

October through December: the main B-run steelhead season, the reason most anglers come.
January through April: spring steelhead as seasons allow; check current rules.
May and June: high snowmelt, chinook seasons in some years.
July through September: prime cutthroat fishing on the Lochsa and Selway, smallmouth on the main stem.