Idaho Freestone
Middle Fork Salmon River Fishing Report, Flows and Hatches
The upper Middle Fork of the Salmon, wilderness permit-float water in the Frank Church country for eager wild westslope cutthroat. A surface river of stoneflies and terrestrials that fishes roughly late June through September, once runoff drops.
Freestone
Idaho
4,380 ft
Gauge 13309220
Right now
Live conditions
An expert read, in your pocket
Rivus knows your river right now. Live conditions, what’s hatching, and what to tie on, the moment you open it.
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The hatch chart
Middle Fork Salmon River hatch chart
The emergences that come off the Middle Fork Salmon by month, straight from the Rivus hatch model.
| Hatch | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Salmonfly Stonefly, #4-8 | ||||||||||||
Golden Stonefly Stonefly, #6-10 | ||||||||||||
Blue Winged Olive Mayfly, #16-22 | ||||||||||||
Little Yellow Sally Stonefly, #12-16 | ||||||||||||
Pale Morning Dun Mayfly, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
Caddisfly Caddis, #12-18 | ||||||||||||
Midge Midge, #18-22 | ||||||||||||
Grasshopper / Terrestrial Hopper, #4-12 | ||||||||||||
Flying Ant / Carpenter Ant Ant, #10-18 | ||||||||||||
Terrestrial Beetle Beetle, #10-16 | ||||||||||||
October Caddis Caddis, #6-8 |
How it fishes
A Idaho freestone
A freestone river runs free off snowmelt and rain, so it swings hard with the seasons. It blows out and browns up in spring runoff, then drops and warms into summer. The hatches track the water temperature more than the calendar, so you time your trip to the flow and the thermometer.
Flow and gauge
Reading the flows
The Middle Fork Salmon is metered at USGS gauge 13309220. Watch the trend as much as the number: a river that is dropping and clearing fishes very differently from one that is coming up.
Access and regulations
Before you fish
Access and the right to fish are the angler’s responsibility, every time. Public access, private water, and seasonal closures vary along the river, so confirm where you can legally stand and wade before you go. We do not point you to a specific spot.
Read the current rules, license requirements, and any special-regulation water before you go. Regulations change season to season, so check them fresh.
Flow and water temperature from USGS, weather from NWS and NOAA, refreshed hourly. Real-time USGS readings are provisional and subject to revision. The hatch chart and river read are Rivus model output.