Salmon River Chinook...!!!

[Huntsman]

Yeah!! The big dudes are in the River...not bass, not whisker fish, but the King of Pacific Salmon...the mighty King!!

Thursday's Sawtooth count showed 510, thats 137 over-night. Get out there and rip some lips, or should I say, let the big dudes rip you!!

Salmon, Challis, Clayton, The Old Sawmill, Tory, Sunbeam, and Stanley can all use the fisherman's support. Chinook mean revenue to these business's so lets go have some fun.....
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[jigs]

i just got back from the stanley basin. the best fishing seems to be from the sawmill to 204. lots of fish going into the hatchery but not many being caught. high water and lots of breakoffs. i only got out 2 morning and had family stuff the rest of the trip but had a blast none the less.
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[lucabrasi]

How long does it look like the season will be open on the upper stretches? I am hoping to get over there next week.
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[SalmonRiverID]

Huntsman is sure right--those places and people really can use the support of the salmon fishermen. Sawtooth Hatchery numbers look real good. The Pahsimeroi is lagging with only 235 chinooks as of July 5. The harvest target has been tentatively raised to 1600 from 900-1000. See:

http://www.salmonriveridaho.net/p/fish.html

Meanwhile, The Salmon River flow continues a normal, orderly seasonal decline. It is 4.61 this morning at the Yankee Fork gauge, The cubic feet per second has dropped by one-third since Opening Day of chinook salmon season. (3000 cfs to 2000 cfs).
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[nijimasu]

is yankee fork area crazy with fisherman, or still slow? By the sound of the appeal for fishermen- it sounds like no one is out there?

South fork was crazy with fishermen last weekend, but not so crazy with fish... hoping upper salmon is better?
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[SalmonRiverID]

I'd like to know how many people are there, too. We had an Arizona friend who stopped to look at Sunbeam Dam before he drove on down here to Idaho Falls. He said he didn't notice many fishermen. We called Old Sawmill Statioin yesterday afternoon and Dana said he didn't think it was too crowded yet. Today, we'll call the Sunbeam Village Grill and ask what they see. When it gets real bus, it's too danged bad IDT doesn't have a web cam pointed at the dam! By the way, as of yesterday the Sawtooth Hatchery has trapped 659 Hatchery Adults. I will post up on this thread if I can learn anything credible about the fishing pressure at Yankee Fork and Buckhorn Bridge.
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[jigs]

when we left thursday there were 2 cars from the yf threw the cable hole. 4 cars at the sawtooth bridge, and no more than 2 cars at any other hole on the river.
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[SalmonRiverID]

Just got off the phone with the Shannon Orr at the Sunbeam Village Grill which is right across the highway from the Yankee Fork/Sunbeam Dam parking area. She said she doesn't feel it's been crowded. She said it's nothing like some of the steelehead Mob scenes she's seen there. She said she doesn't get the idea it's crowded anywhere on the river and the most recent comment above sure bears that out. She did say people are catching salmon. She said it's common for someone to run into her restaurant pleading for "ice, lots of ice." Shannon also said that people are catching a lot of stocker trout along the river. She said there's a lot of happy fishermen coming into her burger and beer grill. Shannon said she's going to start sending me fishing reports and maybe some photos, too. Today's Shannon birthday so if you are in the Stanley-Sunbeam vicinity, stop in and sing her Happy Birthday!

http://www.salmonriveridaho.net/2012/07/...grill.html
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[jigs]

we caught alot of planters and bulltrout up there some of the trout had tags in them
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[prvrt]

I just got back. Not to crowded up by the Yankee Fork. Most places never had more than a few cars. Some holes were packed, like Deadman's Hole, Tory's Hole and the one just above Sawmill. I counted 15 people at Deadman's Hole on Saturday. Below Challis is pretty dead as far as people. You might see 1 car at every 3rd pull off down to the Pasimeroi. Fishing is average. I seen between 1 and 12 fish pulled from different holes in about 5 hours. I did limit one day and singles other days. Hooked 5 this morning, landed 2, kept one. River is dropping about 2"-3" per day. I would say it is about 1 foot above the summer normal. Largest fish was 38", smallest was 31". Seems they are running a little on the small side this year with an average size of about 32".
I did fish the river for trout a bit and caught a few rainbows.
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[Huntsman]

Friday evening and Saturday morning were FUN!!!

Hey guys, remember that Chinook aren't Steelhead. They simply don't hold in the same stretches of water. Generally speaking, Steelies like the lower 1/3 of the hole, while Nookies like the upper third. Angler looking to cash in on Salmon at the Yankee Fork, Cable Hole, Slate Cr. and Squaw Cr. may be dissappointed when compared to spring (freezing) Steelhead season. The gal at Sunbeam Village was right, as its not crowded, for a reason.

Find holes that have some verticle drop, whitewater in the front end, and if you spend the time, you've got a good chance at hooking up!! Chinook fishing generally requires eggs, heavier sinkers, and tougher arms (both from slinging those heavier weights, and for fighting a fish that you won't land in 2 minutes like Steelhead). Then again, Chinook are bigger, stronger because they haven't spent the last 6 months starving, and the water is heavier.

If you like steelheading, and you haven't spent some time chasing Nookie, you simply don't know what you're missing....
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