Hi everyone, this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for December 2, 2025, and the data discussed in this report were collected from November 24 through November 30.
Although fewer steelhead anglers were observed along the Upper Salmon River last week, the fishing remained good. Most bank anglers continued to focus their effort downstream of North Fork. Boat numbers were noticeably lower than in previous weeks, and those that were observed were spread out from just above the Middle Fork Salmon River upstream to Challis.
Average catch rates were great in all monitored areas upstream of the Middle Fork. Anglers interviewed upstream of the Middle Fork in location code 15 averaged 9 hours per steelhead caught. Anglers interviewed upstream of North Fork in location code 16 averaged 10 hours per steelhead caught, and anglers interviewed upstream of the Lemhi River in location code 17 also averaged 9 hours per steelhead caught. Angler effort was low below the Middle Fork in location code 14, and none of the anglers interviewed in that area reported catching a steelhead.
River conditions were good throughout the week, with slightly below average flows and excellent visibility. Water temperatures remained near 40°F for most of the week before falling over the weekend. As of today, the Salmon River is flowing at 1,060 cfs at Salmon, ID, which is 86% of average for today’s date, and water temperatures are down to around 35°F.
That’s all we have for this week’s update, and this will likely be the last steelhead update for 2025. Weekly fishing reports will start again once steelhead fishing effort starts to pick up again next spring. If you have questions or would like additional information, please call the Salmon Regional Office at (208) 756-2271. Additionally, if you have ideas about other information that you would like to see us include in our weekly reports, then please email them to Brent Beller at brent.beller@idfg.idaho.gov.
Report by Brent Beller | Idaho Fish and Game
