Dead water

[thebug]

With the warmer weather and rain I was wondering if it had broken up yet?
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[Steelie30]

With as backed up as it I'd bet it still has forever to go. Warmer water will help but I think we are still 3 weeks out. I hope so since the road below NF is a no go till March 1.
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[jigs]

The road below the NF is a no go? First I have heard about this. Is the road closed or whats going on?
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[blacktop]

A friend called the North Fork Store yesterday and they told him they had eight feet of snow. That is hard to believe. Apparently they have 72 avalanches down river to Corn Creek.
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[Steelie30]

Wow 72? They are going to have their work cut out for them to get back up by the 1st of March. The only silver lining with all of this snow is that the runoff is going to rocket those smolts down to the salt. It should translate to some good runs down the road I hope. At least I am optimistic that it will. Also, the fish that are here this year should be bunched up a bit with the ice jams. They might not spread out as much as in years past. With is being a down year all of that might help us find a few at least..
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[blacktop]

More important than big snowpacks is the timing of the runoff. In 2011 on a bigger water year than this we had very little runoff till the 20th of June because of no warm temperatures. Fish were long gone with little help. Very important to have some 80' temperatures in middle to late May and early June. Cold springs and early summers also delay the chinook over Bonneville that year the fish did not hit Riggins due to two week of huge water and a late start until July 1st and Stanley South Fork of Salmon and Challis till the 20th of July. The big water year is a huge blessing but the Clearwater which affects our Salmon River passage of Steelhead and Salmon beyond Lewiston is slightly below 100%.
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[RJD007]

Went to Duncans Outpost Facebook page and as of Sunday night the road is still closed with 65 slides between Panther Creek and North Fork. Also they have posted the signed closure document from the forest service on the road closure until March 1st. I'll have to call Grant and Faye and see how they are doing.
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[l8zfish]

Thanks for the info all! I always start getting excited to head up to Salmon this time of year and for the last couple of years have been able to get information on the river and road from you guys. Since we can only think about fishing for a bit, I have a question for any of you. Was talking with an old timer on the river last fall and he was telling me that years ago (60's?)there was no steelhead run above the middle fork and that the current run to Pahsimeroi and Stanley were created by the fish and game folks. Found this kind of interesting, have any of you heard of that? I've only been steelheading for about 10 years so this sounds a little strange to me.
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[blacktop]

The current run we fish for the last 40 years has been paid for by Idaho Power who works in conjunction with the fish and game. Steelhead was a huge bonus because of the dams and the humongous Salmon run has disappeared due to the 4 Idaho power Snake River Dams. We have a pretty good salmon run on six river systems in idaho that is also totally financed by Idaho Power that partially replaces the original native run on the main salmon. What the old timer told you is absolutely correct. Idaho Power finances the release of about six- eight million or more steelhead smolts yearly as well as nearly that many or more Salmon smolts.
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[l8zfish]

Thanks for the info Blacktop, I sometimes enjoy learning about Steelhead when I can't be out fishing for them. I have found some interesting information on the Idaho Fish and Game website in their Fisheries Library. Anyway, I did see some photos a gal had posted on Facebook Saturday showing the ice breaking up around the city of Salmon. So I don't suppose it will be too long before dead water begins to move.
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[jigs]

a local man was in the coffee shop this morning saying deadwater is out. can anyone confirm?
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[Steelie30]

I think he is pulling your leg..I am hearing that it is still frozen well above NF but it's starting to cut. Still a bit out and the water is nasty right now.
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[huntid73]

The Village at North Fork posted photos on their Facebook page of deadwater on the 19th, and it was still completely solid on the top and bottom of that run...I have a feeling that this cooldown will keep it solid. I have a feeling that mid March it might fully break out. Could be wrong.
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[SteelFan]

The ice jam is way above Northfork. Like almost to Morgans Bar. It's going to be awhile. With this new weather event and colder temps this weekend it will probably grow and not receed. Plus with as many slides as there have been in the canyon I would be amazed if they open the road on the 1st like they say they will. I think it's going to be over before it even gets started. By the time deaedwater goes the majority of the fish will have traveled under the ice is going to be my guess. And the first time it warms up close to 50 degrees the river will be chocolate milk and it'll be done.
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[Steelie30]

Maybe it's natures way of protecting the few fish that are actually in the system. I think the fish are still low for the most part. It's not the ice that gets them moving, it is the water temperature. This recent weather will keep them hunkered down I think. Hopefully we at least get a little time to get hooked up a little bit. We will see. I'm going to take the optimistic route on this one. I have way too much gear that I need to lose or my wife is going to start questioning my spending...
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[RJD007]

Faye post on Duncans Outputs Facebook page that the river is starting to clear up but was not fishable yet. As of yesterday, Dead Water is still not out. They have pictures of the river around shoup and a rock slide upper clam hole.
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[RJD007]

Well just got back. The river is clear to north fork and that is about where the ice starts. Dead water is starting to cave but no movement on the lower end. There are about 20 ice bridges between dead water and panther creek and river is not fishable. They just opened the road from long tom to corn creek and the boats went down Saturday to open up for the year. The middle fork is crystal clear which made the river fishable below the pack bridge. On Wednesday and Thursday before it mudded up, they were catching fish. Grant said it would be about a week before he felt dead water would go at the rate it is dropping.
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[chillout]

I also checked out Deadwater on Saturday. My report is similar to RJD007's. I would add that the road is full of rocks from North Fork to Dump Creek where I turned around. It was essentially one lane and high clearance needed. I had to pull over several times to meet oncoming vehicles. The full ice cap at Deadwater started above the handicap access and ended at the tailout break just above Dump Creek. The water is flowing well under the ice at Deadwater, so the water is very muddy at Dump Creek and down river. There was a lot of ice flowing from Wagonhammer downstream. I would say Deadwater will go out by Wednesday or Thursday. Above North Fork to Salmon the river is clear and fishable. Access is a problem. You will have to park along the highway and walk in and fish off the ice banks. Take a long handled net and be careful. Still a lot of snow. Quite a few fisherman out on Saturday making the trek in at Bobcat, Red Rock, and Fourth of July, etc.
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[Steelie30]

I checked out the jam on my way back from the Clearwater on Sunday. I too think it will go out by the latter part of this week. Hopefully after that the weather stays relatively cool so that we don't get blown out before it begins. I hit the South Fork Clearwater last weekend and before the water started climbing again it was pretty good. However, right now the water is on the climb and making for some tough fishing. I'm glad we got at least 1 really good day out of it last week. I hope the upper salmon fishes decent this year. Only time will tell.
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[blacktop]

With 50 degree highs for the next six days at Salmon and lows around or above freezing deadwater will go out in a day or two. If there is much snow on the Lemhi or lateral streams muddy water could be a problem with lowland snow melt. How much snow is there twenty five miles up the Lemhi? It could be a very short season below North Fork if this is the case. I remember the spring of 2003 on a March 8th deadwater out when the Lemhi run mud and there was not one fishable day on the lower river below North Fork as the water hit 46 degrees and the fish were gone before the water cleared.
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