Recent warm weather along the upper Salmon River has it feeling a little more like spring, and we thought it would be a good time to issue an update about how things are looking downstream of North Fork on the upper Salmon River. The pictures included in this blog post were all taken on February 9, 2022.

To answer the question that most people ask this time of year, yes the Deadwater ice jam is still in place. In January, the ice jam progressed upstream of Tower Creek, but since then it has started to recede. As of Thursday, February 10th the river had opened up a channel to the Bobcat river access site. Most years the ice jam opens up anywhere from late February to the first week of March. During 2020 and 2021, the ice jam opened up on March 6th. Whenever the ice jam does open up we will issue a separate blog post to notify anglers.

River and road conditions downstream of Deadwater are in good shape for this time of year. Ice bridges are present in certain areas, but most holes downstream of Panther Creek have open water with shore ice. The river's visibility has decreased during the last few days, but the colder overnight lows predicted for the upcoming week should help to improve it. The Salmon River road is plowed to a mile downstream of Colson Creek. Multiple snow slides came down on Thursday, February 10, and the road was reopened by the Lemhi County Road and Bridge department. The potential for snow and rock slides exists each spring throughout this area. Anglers are always advised to be prepared for delays and to use caution when driving and choosing where to park.

Boat ramps that are currently unusable due to ice are: Deadwater, North Fork, Bobcat, 4th of July, Red Rock, and Tower Creek. We will clear these ramps within the next few weeks once we are confident that the ice jam will not impact the ramps again. All the river access sites upstream of Tower Creek are open, but some remain snow covered. Anglers are advised to check the conditions of any ramps they intend to use before launching boats.

Angler effort has been very low so far this year, but we expect that to change soon with the warmer weather. Be on the lookout for the weekly upper Salmon River steelhead fishing reports that will be issued in the upcoming weeks.