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

Report for 2/14/11

Fishing remained consistent over the past week, although it was a little slower than the two previous weeks.  During the week river flows continued to drop at a slow pace and the river was clearing.  Fishing remained good in all portions of the Clearwater with most of our guides spending the majority of their time above Orofino, but we heard some great reports from downstream of Orofino.  The North Fork continued to pump out a large volume of water making this section of river difficult to fish from a Drift Boat.  Once again side drifting was the most consistent technique.

Report 2/8/11

Fishing over the past week continued to be really good!  Monday and Tuesday fished well on the upper river around Kamiah, but a cold front moved in and drastically dropped water temperatures and the river flowed slush ice on Wednesday, but warmer weather cleared the upper river by Saturday.  These conditions led us to concentrate on the river below the North Fork.  This section of river was on fire during the later part of the week.  We averaged 6 plus fish to the boat for two anglers!  Side drifting eggs was once again the most productive technique during the week.   We are into a great Spring season!  Now is the time to fish the Clearwater!