Comment

Comment by L.J. on February 22, 2012 at 3:05pm

Thanks Rick!  I appreciate the info. I was thinking of taking the boat up this weekend or possibly next weekend.  I have heard the fishing is good right now.  I have never floated any sections of the Salmon river.  I am truly a novice oarsman as this is really my second year behind the oars.  I will definitely scout the river first.  Thanks again for the info. 

And if anyone else is planning on doing some steelhead fishing let me know.  Maybe we can float the  river together.

Comment by Rick Newman on February 22, 2012 at 2:33pm

I have only floated this once or twice. It has fewer noteworthy rapids than other sections of the Salmon River above and below this section. Below is listed a link to the BLM's website with maps and details on this and other sections.

http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/recreation/what_do_you_want_to/riv...

What really matters is at what river level you plan to float as the constitution of the river can change greatly. Hence the below link to the river level information. Not only will it tell you the daily river real-time river flows it can help you plan for potential flows. So for example if you want to plan a trip for May 1 you can look up that date and see what the potential % of chance that the river will flow at the predicted rate.

Obviously the lower the water the greater the number of rocks that become visible or at least hidden below the surface. As the water flows increase so does the velocity of the river and thus do the once hidden or barely visible rocks start to form rapids. At some levels this area of the river can change greatly. However the fishing will also change with the river flow, time of year and just where the fish are during their migration upstream. Perhaps a couple of phone calls to local outfitters will give you a first hand estimate of how river flows might be when the steelhead may be in that section of river.

In over forty trips on the Lower Main Salmon located downstream from this section I have seen this river and the rapids change in an astonishing amount. Rapids that at some flows are Class 3 and at other flows don't even exist.

L.J. the nice thing about this section is that much of the river is accompanied by the highway so you can drive the river and see what it looks like and whether or not your skills match the conditions.

It is a wonderful river that has many moods and much beauty along it's shores. I floated the Lower Main Salmon in March leading a group of college students. Cool night, amazing amounts of wildlife, snow on the surrounding peaks and low water flows. We even got sunburned while down on the Snake River near Heller's Bar. It was a remarkable trip and a great trip. I would love to do it again.

Good luck on your fishing. Send pictures of your trip and let us know how you enjoyed the river.

Rick Newman

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/id/nwis/uv/?site_no=13317000