Idaho is the far end of the line. Fish that spawn in the Salmon and the Clearwater have already climbed eight dams and something like nine hundred river miles, and they are the longest running salmon migration left in the lower forty eight.
Seasons, limits and licence rules are set by your state agency.
Each bar below spans January to December, with today marked, and draws the quoted sentence underneath it. Where an agency describes a run by season rather than by month, the card carries the sentence without a bar.
The fish that leave the ocean earliest, because Idaho is further from the sea than anywhere else they still reach.
The migration from the ocean to their spawning grounds begins in April through July, with peak migration occurring in May.
The South Fork Salmon fish, and the reason Idaho splits its Chinook three ways rather than two.
Chinook returning to Idaho are classified into three groups or "runs" - spring, summer and fall Chinook - based on when they begin their migration upstream to spawn.
Spawns low, in the Snake below Hells Canyon and the lower Clearwater, rather than up in the headwaters.
The journey to spawning grounds begins in late July, peaking in September, and ends in December.
Every Idaho steelhead is a summer fish. The window here is when they pass Bonneville Dam on the Columbia, four hundred miles downstream; they arrive in Idaho weeks to months later and overwinter in the river before spawning in spring.
They pass Bonneville Dam beginning in August and peaking in October.
| River | Water temp | Flow | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salmon Riverat White Bird | Loading | Loading | |
| Salmon Riverat Salmon | Loading | Loading | |
| Little Salmon Riverat Riggins | Loading | Loading | |
| Clearwater Riverat Spalding | Loading | Loading | |
| Clearwater Riverat Orofino | Loading | Loading | |
| South Fork Clearwater Riverat Stites | Loading | Loading | |
| Selway Rivernear Lowell | Loading | Loading | |
| Lochsa Rivernear Lowell | Loading | Loading |
Source: USGS Water Services (National Water Information System). Instantaneous values service. U.S. Geological Survey data are works of the United States Government and are in the public domain. Gauge list verified 2026-08-24.
Idaho steelhead are counted twice before they get here. Managers split them into an A-Index and a larger, later B-Index, most of which are bound for the Clearwater, and the run is called at Bonneville rather than at the state line. Idaho Fish and Game describe the fish reaching the lower Clearwater, Snake and Salmon in autumn and working further up into the South Fork Clearwater, the Little Salmon and the upper Salmon as the season goes on.
The preseason forecast is updated after about 50 percent of the run passes Bonneville Dam, which typically occurs in mid-August for A-Index and mid to late September for B-Index steelhead.
Fish passage counts are published by the programmes that run the counting stations, linked below with what each one reports.
Run windows on this page are quoted from the agency named beside each one. River conditions come from the U.S. Geological Survey and are readings, not forecasts and not fish counts. Fishing seasons, bag limits, gear rules and licence requirements for Idaho are set by the agency linked here, and a run window is not an open season. For rules, see Idaho Department of Fish and Game. National picture: every state with a salmon or steelhead run →
Hero image: “My Public Lands Roadtrip: Lower Salmon River in Idaho (18111557534)” — Bureau of Land Management — Public Domain