Stanley Idaho, Stanley Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce » Fishing Report

Salmon River Fishing Report

david — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:27:47 +0000

The Salmon has dropped and cleared significantly in the last 2 weeks. The upper river between the Yankee Fork and Stanley is fairly clear and offers reasonable fishing. The water below the East Fork is off color but should clear just in time for a few Large Golden Stoneflies to make their annual appearance.

MAIN SALMON RIVER – EARLY SPRING FISHING BELOW STANLEY

david — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:32:40 +0000

March 25 , 2010 Fishing Report

IT’S ALL ABOUT STEELHEAD THIS TIME OF YEAR!!

STEELHEAD UPDATE:

Fishing is beginning to pick up in the Upper River and there are definitely fish throughout the entire Main Salmon. Reports of amazing numbers of fish are coming up from the Salmon area and every day we are seeing more fish in the upper river. Numbers of anglers are also on the increase and a friendly smile goes a long way! The river is still quite low and wade fishing is definitely at its easiest at the moment. Try a nymph dropped off a skunk or just a leechy pattern on the swing.

Steelhead passed through Lower Granite Dam in record numbers this past fall and at last count the number was over 314,000. This dam is the upper most dam of the four Snake River dams that our fish must past through on their out migration and return trip to Idaho. We enjoyed a few of these fish on the upper river below Stanley last fall and this spring should be one of the best ever with record numbers of fish in the system!

SALMON UPDATE: Salmon season opened June 20 and closed July 26 this past summer of 2009. If you didn’t know it, last year and this year were the first Salmon seasons in over 30 years. Each year, Fish and Game determines the number of available Chinook Salmon that may be harvested. Word so far from Fish and Game for this year is this -”if we have a season on the upper river near Stanley, it is likely to only be a few days long.” Numbers are good for the river and a season near Salmon. Stay tuned!

General Information

Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and release and prefer to keep fish, there are rainbows with missing adipose fins which can be kept. If you are fishing the Main Salmon River, please be sure to check the adipose fin and if the fish has one and is not a Mountain Whitefish or Brook trout, it must be released. Please handle it carefully, practice good catch and release techniques and let it go to catch another day. Consider fishing only with a single barbless hook to increase survival rates of the native fish and don’t keep the fish out of the water for over 20 seconds or, better yet keep them in the waterl. Hatchery stocked, catch and keep rainbow trout will be missing the adipose fin. Middle Fork tributaries are CATCH & RELEASE only.

Check the regulation book for exceptions and remember that many fish are protected and cannot be kept. The regulation book tells what can be kept and how to tell the difference.

Fishing Report courtesy of Silver Creek Outfitters.
800-732-5687 or email us at info@sawtoothfishingguides.com for an update.

Aug 14 Fishing Report

david — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:33:59 +0000

August 14 , 2009 Fishing ReportÂ Trout &Salmon Fishing:

Fishing has been great in our area the last few weeks as the water has dropped and the summer weather has arrived. Insects are still abundant, and the fish are looking up. We are still using many of the summer patterns like grasshoppers and ants along with attractors and matches of the many hatches that are occuring everyday.Â We are seeing everything from several types of mayflies to smaller caddis’s. The spruce moths that we have had the last few weeks have come and gone with only a few still around but a cream caddis’s is still a good fly to try. As cooler weather arrives, it may take a nymph dropper to jump start a morning of fishing.

Lake fishing in valley lakes has been decent with many of the lakes recently stocked.Â Look to the inlet and outlet areas for better fishing.Â Most High mountain lakes are fishing really well right now and the mosquito population is on the downward trend!!

Idaho Fish and Game has done some stocking in many of the ponds and lakes, as well as the Upper Main Salmon throughout the summer with catchable rainbows.Â Many of the non stocked rivers and streams are also fishing well for native trout.

SALMON update: Salmon season opened June 20 and closed July 26 at 10 PM. If you didn’t know it, last year was our first Salmon season in over 30 years. It opened on June 19 and ended in late July. The numbers this year have been great and many people have had a great salmon season.

General Information

Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and release and prefer to keep fish, there are rainbows with missing adipose fins which can be kept. If you are fishing the Main Salmon River, please be sure to check the adipose fin and if the fish has one and is not a Mountain Whitefish or Brook trout, it must be released. Please handle it carefully, practice good catch and release techniques and let it go to catch another day. Consider fishing only with a single barbless hook to increase survival rates of the native fish and don’t keep the fish out of the water for over 20 seconds. Hatchery stocked, catch and keep rainbow trout will be missing the adipose fin. Middle Fork tributaries are CATCH & RELEASE only.

Check the regulation book for exceptions and remember that many fish are protected and cannot be kept. The regulation book tells what can be kept and how to tell the difference.

Report courtesy of Sawtooth Fishing Guides

Fishing Report – July 24

david — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:08:15 +0000

Fishing has been great in our area the last few weeks as the water has dropped and the summer weather has arrived. Insects are abundant, and the fish are looking up. We have just started using more of the summer patterns like grasshoppers and ants along with attractors and matches of the many hatches that are occuring everyday. We are seeing everything from several types of mayflies to smaller caddis’s, yellow sallies and still a few large golden stones. Lake fishing in valley lakes should be decent with many of the lakes recently stocked. Look to the inlet and outlet areas for better fishing. Most High mountain lakes are now snow and ice free and fishing is excellent. Idaho Fish and Game has done some stocking in many of the ponds and lakes, as well as the Upper Main Salmon the past few weeks with catchable rainbows and many of the non stocked rivers and streams are fishing well for native trout.

SALMON update:

Salmon season opened June 20 and will close July 26 at 10 PM. If you didn’t know it, last year was our first Salmon season in over 30 years. It opened on June 19 and ended in late July. The numbers this year have been great and many people have had a great salmon season.

General Information

Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and release and prefer to keep fish, there are rainbows with missing adipose fins which can be kept. If you are fishing the Main Salmon River, please be sure to check the adipose fin and if the fish has one and is not a Mountain Whitefish or Brook trout, it must be released. Please handle it carefully, practice good catch and release techniques and let it go to catch another day. Consider fishing only with a single barbless hook to increase survival rates of the native fish and don’t keep the fish out of the water for over 20 seconds. Hatchery stocked, catch and keep rainbow trout will be missing the adipose fin. Middle Fork tributaries are CATCH & RELEASE only.

Check the regulation book for exceptions and remember that many fish are protected and cannot be kept. The regulation book tells what can be kept and how to tell the difference.

Fishing report courtesy of Sawtooth Fishing Guides (208) 774 8768 or info@sawtoothfishingguides.com

June 25, 2009 Fishing Report Trout & Salmon Fishing

david — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:49:42 +0000

Fishing is just starting to turn on in our area as the water begins to drop from a long month of rain and high water. Salmon Flies are abundant, as are many other hatches and the fish are looking up and in places where the water is a bit slower they are hitting some pretty large patterns!
Fishing on the rivers and streams should just get better as many of the tributaries are clearing up and the rivers are dropping daily. Look to the softer water along the edges, the seam lines with tributary streams and the holes for the best chance of catching fish. Lake fishing in valley lakes should be decent with many of the lakes still quite high. Look to the inlet and outlet areas for better fishing. Many High mountain lakes are still frozen over but, again outlets and inlets might fish well if you can get to the lakes over snow. Right now, 8200 to 8500 feet seems to be about the snow level for the spring melt.
Idaho Fish and Game has done some stocking in many of the ponds and lakes and just started stocking the upper Main Salmon this past week.

SALMON update: Salmon season opened June 20. If you didn’t know it, last year was our first Salmon season in over 30 years. It opened on June 19 and ended in late July. The numbers so far are close to last years and we should have a good season all the way from Salmon upstream to just below the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery above Stanley. More Chinook and Sockeye came back upriver last summer and fall than have been seen in many, many years. So far this summer, the fish are, for the most part still downstream of us. We have hopes they will be in our area in the next week or two so keep your fingers crossed and look for updates as they arrive.

General Information
Many of the fish we catch in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and release and prefer to keep fish, there are rainbows with missing adipose fins which can be kept. If you are fishing the Main Salmon River, please be sure to check the adipose fin and if the fish has one and is not a Mountain Whitefish or Brook trout, it must be released. Please handle it carefully, practice good catch and release techniques and let it go to catch another day. Consider fishing only with a single barbless hook to increase survival rates of the native fish and don’t keep the fish out of the water for over 20 seconds. Hatchery stocked, catch and keep rainbow trout will be missing the adipose fin. Middle Fork tributaries are CATCH & RELEASE only.
Check the regulation book for exceptions and remember that many fish are protected and cannot be kept. The regulation book tells what can be kept and how to tell the difference.

Courtesy of Sawtooth Fishing Guides: (208)774-8768 or info@sawtoothfishingguides.com

Summer Fishing Report

david — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:04:12 +0000

TROUT FISHING: Fishing in the Sawtooth Valley, Stanley Basin and Upper Main Salmon area is very hit and miss. The river is high and swift which means it is tough to fish. I would look to the lakes and ponds until the river and itâ€™s tributary streams begin to drop. Stocking of catchable â€œpan sizedâ€ rainbow trout has been done in a few local ponds and will begin in the upper river when the flow drops down.

Local valley lakes and ponds are the best possibility and a much safer place to try for fish right now. If we get a warmer day, there might even be a few bugs on the surface, otherwise, go under the surface and look to nymphs, streamers and possibly some emergers. Lake Trout or Kokanee may be found on some valley lakes that hold those fish as the lakes “turn over” each spring and fall when water temperatures reach the right level. Some of the lakes are currently producing bull trout that move thru the system each spring headed for their summer residences.

SALMON SEASON: Due to start on June 20, is the second Chinook Salmon season in this area in over 30 years. Check with Idaho Fish and Game and local shops for regulations and more information on fishing for these fish.

Many of the fish we catch here in our area are Westslope Cutthroat, native Rainbow trout and Bull Trout. These fish are native, natural fish and must be released. If you do not practice catch and release and prefer to keep fish, there are some rainbows with missing adipose fins which can be kept, as well as Brooke Trout, but learn the difference between Bull Trout, Lake Trout and Brook Trout. If you are fishing the Main Salmon River, please be sure to check the adipose fin and if the fish has one and is not a Mountain Whitefish or Brook trout, it must be released so please handle it carefully and let it go to catch another day. Consider fishing only with a single barbless hook to increase survival rates of the native fish. Hatchery stocked, catch and keep rainbow trout will be missing the adipose fin. Middle Fork tributaries are CATCH & RELEASE only.

General fishing season opened on May 23 this year so most waters are open. Check the regulation book for exceptions and remember that many fish are protected and cannot be kept. The regulation book tells what can be kept and how to tell the difference. Call local outfitters and shops for day to day updates on local waters and best flies or tackle to use.

Report Courtesy of Sawtooth Fishing Guides

- Report courtesy of Julie Meissner
Sawtooth Fishing Guides
208-774-8768