When thinking of Walleye fishing Idaho is probably not the first place that comes to mind. Most people would be quick to point to places in the Upper Midwest, places like the Dakotas, Minnesota, or Michigan, and any walleye fisherman worth their leadcore would definitely put the Columbia River high on the list, but although limited to only a handful of locations Idaho actually has some fantastic walleye fishing opportunities. The current state record came from Oakley Reservoir, and weighed in at 17.88 pounds. The current catch and release record hails from Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir and is 31.5 inches in length.
In addition to Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir and Oakley Reservoir walleye can also be found in Ririe Reservoir in Eastern Idaho, and Lake Pend Oreille in Northern Idaho. All of these fisheries have the potential to produce some fantastic walleye fishing, but for anglers looking for consistent success Salmon Falls Creek and Oakley Reservoirs are the top destinations for Idaho walleye anglers.
While Oakley is a great fishery its just a place that we haven’t really spent any time fishing. Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir on the other hand is our location of choice. As it turns out we also are the holders of an Idaho Outfitters license for Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir and we offer fully guided Walleye Fishing trips on one of Idaho’s best walleye fisheries.
Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir, locally known as Salmon Dam is a unique high desert reservoir nestled into the deep canyon formed by Salmon Falls Creek. This is a unique walleye fishery in that this reservoir has very steep drop off banks that surround most of the impoundment. A lot of the shoreline here are sheer cliffs that plunge directly into the water. These unique features make Salmon Dam a different style of fishery than most walleye fisheries around the west. Popular walleye techniques such as worm harnesses behind a bottom bouncer, and trolling crankbaits can be super effective here especially on a few of the larger mud flats. In addition to trolling anglers pitching and vertically jigging jigs rigged with bait and soft plastics typically produce a bunch of walleye. Currently Salmon Dam is absolutely chocked full of smaller eater size walleye. These 12-15 inch fish will make up most of the catch here, and with a 6 fish limit they provide an awesome opportunity to take some tasty walleye home for dinner. Salmon Dam also holds some very decent walleye over 20 inches, but these larger fish are much more spread out. When targeting larger walleye you are almost fishing for a different fish. Its like the difference in chasing young whitetail bucks and old mature bucks, it just takes a different mindset. Large walleye can be found, but guys need to be willing to fish for just a few bites a day. Most of the reservoirs big walleye are caught in what we refer to as the “steep and deep” areas. These bigger walleye will use the steep cliffs and associated deep water as refuge when they are not feeding, then move just a short distance to their preferred feeding location in sometimes very shallow water. The other thing that makes big walleye tough here is that they are predominantly a nocturnal feeder using the darkness of night as cover while they hunt their prey in shallow water.
We absolutely love the uniqueness of this fishery and our family has history fishing here, often times at family gatherings the stories told around the campfire seem to drift to a lonely night on Salmon Dam searching for trophy walleye. We would love to show you why this place is special to us. If you are looking to learn more about this fishery, or just would like a different Southern Idaho experience nothing quite beats a day on Salmon Dam with one of our awesome guides.
