Salmon River

We at IDF&G have seen an increase in of calls from anglers asking about the status of the Deadwater ice jam, so now would be a good time to give a brief update. 

The ice jam likely reached its maximum extent last week when it made it approximately two miles upstream of the Tower Creek boat ramp. As of Tuesday, February 18th, the Deadwater ice jam is still in place, but it has opened up to the Red Rock access site. Given that the 10-day weather forecast is calling for above average temperatures, our best guess is that the ice jam will fully open within one to two weeks from now. Once the Deadwater ice jam does fully open, we will issue another article to the IDFG website. 

All boat ramps between Deadwater and Tower Creek are currently unusable because of the ice jam. We are planning on opening IDFG boat ramps within this area in early March, depending on weather and ice conditions.

The last thing we wanted to mention is that our spring steelhead creel will begin next week, and that the first Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for spring 2025 will be issued the week of March 3rd. If anyone has questions or would like additional information, then please call the IDFG Salmon Regional Office at (208) 756-2271.