Category: Steelhead Fishing

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February the Best Month for Clearwater River Steelhead?

We often get asked, “what’s the best time to fish Idaho’s Clearwater River?” Often our answer is simply whenever you can get here, but specifically we look at the month of February as one of the absolute best times of the year to fish for the giant B-Run steelhead on the Clearwater.

February is typically when the Clearwater starts to become alive again. With Orofino, Idaho sitting at an elevation of just over 1000 ft spring starts to show in the Clearwater Canyon often long before the surrounding highlands. February also tends to kick off the Spring migration of steelhead that have overwintered both in the Snake and Clearwater Rivers . During the cold water periods of late November, December, and January most of the upstream migration stops and Clearwater steelhead look for deep slow moving water to wait out the cold, but as the water temps start to rise (usually during the last week of January and first two weeks of February) the urge to migrate again takes over. From now through April Idaho’s steelhead will make the final push of their already incredible journey back to their spawning grounds deep in the Selway/Bitterroot wilderness or to the hatchery they were born in.

During February we position ourselves near Orofino, Idaho where the North Fork Clearwater River meets the main stem Clearwater. Dworshak National Fish Hatchery is located here and we are waiting to intercept these fish as they gather near the hatchery of their birth. During February our number one used technique is side drifting bait and single egg imitations. This method allows us to cover lots of water and put our gear in front of lots of willing fish. During February its not uncommon for our boats to see double digit numbers of steelhead slide into the net. So, if you are getting some cabin fever, and ready to hit the water contact us today and lets get you out on a fantastic steelhead fishing adventure on Idaho’s Clearwater River.

To book your next Clearwater River Steelhead trip either give us a call at 208-669-1569 or click on the green Book Online button at the top of your screen. We look forward to spending a day on the water with you!

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Snake River Steelhead

We had a fantastic day in the sun today on the lower end of Hell’s Canyon fishing out of Heller Bar. We ended up putting 8 fish In the net for our two anglers today. The Snake River currently has quite a few fish in it and the fishing is good. We did very well today side drifting eggs and yarn and egg combinations. The water was low today so we fished very light lead and really pounded the slow pocket water near the bank. The water temperature was around 37 which puts these fish in the slower water near the bank. We have open boats next week and will be fishing the Snake through the 15th of February so if you are interested in booking a day get in touch with us.

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Clearwater River Fishing Report

The rain is here and the water is up. The past week on Idaho’s Clearwater has been a little challenging due to the amount of rain our area say this past week. With that said we were able to fish every day this week and fishing was good overall. Most of our fish were caught in the Orofino area side drifting eggs and pegged beads. With the dirty water it seems like eggs take a slight advantage over the pegged beads, but we still picked up fish using both set ups.

For this week we expect water levels to drop daily, and the fishing should be fantastic. We normally see awesome fishing after a rain event. As the water clears up and the temperature drops look for fish to get into their normal November pattern. We should start to see more fish in the deeper holes, and also look for fish to be well distributed through out the entire river.

Unlike the past few weeks side drifting bait and yarn will be our go to for the foreseeable future. This is our absolute favorite way to catch these awesome Clearwater B-Runs. Big fish on light tackle is a rush.

All our Clearwater trips are done as employees of Reel Time Fishing

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Clearwater River Steelhead Report

Kyle has now switched gears from Fall Salmon and is now spending all his time fishing Steelhead on the Clearwater and Snake Rivers. Last week was our first full week of steelhead fishing for the year and things have started out great. We fished all week on the Clearwater. Currently the water is very low and clear, so our tactics have changed a little bit from our normal side drifting program. We are still drifting eggs, yarn, and beads, but we have been spending a large portion of our day pulling plugs.

Plug fishing in these conditions allows us to present our gear to the fish before the influence of the boat affects the fish. By setting out the “wall of death” 75 feet below the boat we are able to drop our plugs into every little nook and cranny that these big steelhead like to hide.

Low and clear conditions are also a great time to fish with a float and jig. By positioning the boat above potential steelhead holding water we are able to drop small jigs into fish well before the boat gets there.

Fishing has been decent with most of our fish being caught before lunch. The steelhead action will improve greatly as we get some fall rains and a little more water in the river. With more water we will again go to side drifting as our number one technique, but in the mean time we are having fun hunting these fish with multiple techniques.

We have openings this week and plenty of open boats and seats in November. All of our Clearwater dates are done as employees of Reel Time Fishing so get in touch with us for available dates and we will get your trip all set up. Our office number at 208-669-1569 is the best way to reach us.

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Clearwater River Steelhead Report

We continue to do well on Idaho’s Clearwater River despite the recent cold snap. Fishing has slowed down over the past week, but our boats are still out getting 5-10 a day and finding some really good fish in the process. The picture featured in this report is of a young man’s first steelhead! We will be wrapping up our Steelhead season this weekend and moving our focus to Columbia River Walleye! Give us a call at 208-669-1569 to get your trips booked.

All Clearwater River trips are done as employees of Reel Time Fishing.

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Clearwater River Steelhead Fishing Report

We had another good day fishing on Idaho’s Clearwater River today. Despite the high water and the cold temps we still found a bunch of fish to play with today. Over the past few days our go to approach has been Bobber dogging both beads and eggs. Some days they want the bead rigs and some days they want the eggs. Today it wall all beads. With the high water we have been experiencing over the last week the bobber dogging really lets us present out baits in the soft water near the bank, and keeps our gear fishing instead of being hung up all day.

We only have a couple of weeks left for chasing steelhead on Idaho’s Clearwater Rivers so if you have been thinking about a trip the time to make it happen is now. Give us a call at 208-669-1569 or 208-861-0654 and we will get your trip all set up.

For all Clearwater dates we work as employees of Reel Time Fishing.

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Clearwater River Steelhead Fishing Report

We had another good day today on Idaho’s Clearwater River. The water was up today and we had to grind it out but we still went 6-10 and got into some great fish. It’s looking like it will be a great February. This water should calm down by mid week and fishing will be on fire. We still have openings so get in touch with us to book your trips. We work as employees of Reel Time Fishing for all Clearwater trips. For more information on our Clearwater River Steelhead Trips click Here. 

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Clearwater River Steelhead Fishing Report

We had another great day on Idaho’s Clearwater River. Today was a little slower but the 2 guys I had still managed to land 4 Steelhead and hook a few others. We had some difficult conditions to fish today with rising water, but still had a great day. We have plenty of openings for February and after this water calms down a bit fishing will again be fantastic. All our Clearwater trips are done as employees of Reel Time Fishing.

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Hell’s Canyon Steelhead Fishing!

Snake River Steelhead

We are continuing to see great fishing in the lower end of Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River near Heller Bar. It’s been great to see all the keepers around too. Yesterday was awesome, nice Steelhead, no crowds, and 58 degrees in January!  We have a few openings over the next few weeks if you want to get out!  Click Here for more information on our Snake River Steelhead adventures.

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Snake River Keeps Kicking out Steelhead

Snake River Steelhead

We had another great day fishing the Snake River out of Heller Bar. We ended our day 9-11 and kept 5 nice fish. Fishing the Snake for Steelhead continues to be a great option and we really think it’s going to fish great well into February!  Again today our key was fishing coon shrimp in our concoction. This mix just keeps on kicking out fish!  We have openings over the next few weeks so get in on this while the getting is good!  Ohh and did I mention that we had the river all to ourselves?!