Report Date: 2/28/11

Last Week:

During the beginning of the week the Upper Clearwater was fishing great, but by the end of the week unseasonably cold temperatures slowed down the catching substantially.  Monday through Wednesday saw our guide’s consistently catching fish side drifting eggs on the upper river around Kamiah.  The severe winter weather that was predicted for the area seemed to stay just north of the Kamiah area for a few days.   We had really nice warm temperatures and blue sky, but by Thursday our luck ran out.  River temperatures dropped rapidly and the upper river was flowing slush by Saturday Morning.   Cold temps forced us to fish the lower River downstream of Orofino.  Catching was not great, but our guides managed to get multiple fish to the boat on both Saturday and Sunday.  The best bite of the day was between 1pm and dark.  This is often the case during cold weather periods. 

Next Week:

Day and nighttime temperatures are forecast to rise over the next week, and along with that we are supposed to get a decent amount of rain.  This warmer weather will clear the upper river of any ice and should once again lead to consistent catches in the upper river.  Fishing over the next week should be good.  Boat anglers should look to side drifting to produce the most consistent catches wile bank anglers should have continued success fishing float and jig/ bait combinations