We are so blessed to have Idaho’s Clearwater River in our backyard. The Clearwater is located in North Central Idaho and flows west from the Bitterroot Mountains, and finishes it journey by emptying into the Snake River in Lewiston Idaho. Idaho, even though its landlocked from the Pacific Ocean, enjoys fantastic Steelhead and Salmon fisheries in three major river systems. The Snake, Clearwater, and Salmon Rivers offer fantastic opportunities for anglers to enjoy Steelhead beginning in September and continuing into April. Although there are lots of areas to target Steelhead in Idaho only one river conjures up emotion and anticipation like the Clearwater. Much as a whitetail deer hunter yearns to sit on the edge of anIowa corn field looking for a 200 inch buck, Steelhead anglers flock to the Clearwater for an opportunity to land a fish of a lifetime.
Unlike Idaho’s other Steelhead rivers the run of Steelhead that make their way home to the Clearwater are predominantly referred to as B-Run Steelhead. Idaho’s Steelhead run is comprised of A-Run and B-Run fish. The A and B designation is determined by whey the fish cross Bonneville Dam ( the first of 8 dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers that all Idaho Salmon and Steelhead must migrate through) A-Run fish are simply the fish that cross Bonneville Dam before August 25th and B- Run Fish are all steelhead counted after August 25th. Along with difference in run timing A-Run fish only tend to spend one year in the ocean, while the B-Run fish spend 2-3 years in the ocean before returning to Idaho. As you can imagine the difference in time spent feeding on the open ocean drastically impacts the overall size of these fish when returning to fresh water. A-Run Steelhead average 24-26 inches in length and weigh on average 4-6 pounds. B-Run Steelhead on the other hand average 32-34 inches and weigh 12-14 pounds on average with many fish in the 36-39 inch range, and a few 40 plus inch fish are landed every year.
We target steelhead on the Clearwater from September 10th – mid March. We often see some of our biggest fish of the year starting in early October with big fish ( 35” +) possible every day through mid March. Unlike other northwest steelhead rivers Idaho’s Clearwater is not a numbers game, but anglers from all over the world flock here for a chance at a fish of a lifetime. If looking for a trip of a lifetime give our office a call at 208-669-1569 or take a look at our calendar at the bottom of this page for the book online options.
