Upper Salmon’s first fall steelhead report: one fish in 64 hours, river at 1,200 cfs

Idaho’s first weekly Upper Salmon steelhead report of the fall is a slow start. Fish and Game said Oct. 14, 2026, that creel interviews began Thursday, Oct. 8. Effort was low. Most anglers the crew saw were in river location code 15, downstream of North Fork. Interviewers recorded one angler who released a steelhead there, which the report turns into an average catch rate of 64 hours per steelhead.

Downstream of Salmon, the river was in good shape despite poor weekend weather: clear visibility, water in the low to mid-50s, then the upper 40s by Monday. As of the report date, the Salmon River was flowing at 1,200 cubic feet per second through the town of Salmon, 95 percent of average for that date.

The note points back to the department’s 2026 steelhead update: the return at Bonneville is one of the lowest since counts began in 1938. The fall bag is two adipose-clipped steelhead a day, up to six in possession. The fall season limit is unchanged at 20 adipose-clipped fish. PIT-tag estimates for Sawtooth and Pahsimeroi hatchery steelhead are in the same range as the 2018–19 and 2019–20 run years, which the report says is less than half of last year’s return. About 90 percent of this year’s fish are two-ocean steelhead that average around 28 inches, with some likely over 30.

Questions go to the Salmon Regional Office at (208) 756-2271. The report says catch rates can still improve once more of the run reaches the upper river, and it points anglers to the steelhead seasons-and-rules page before they go.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Idaho Fish and Game — Upper Salmon River Steelhead Fishing Report (10-14-2026) (Oct. 14, 2026).