Lewiston Idaho Fishing Report 12.27.17

Clearwater River

The river is running at 8,670 cfs, having shot up early Sunday. The graph shows the river dropping and then climbing to its current flow. Rain is predicted so it could rise again. It’s cold out there with the water temperature running at 37.5 F. Foot warmers and hand warmers will keep you on the water and in the game. You’ll want to get down to the fish with Rio Mow tips or an Airflow Polyleader. You can try dry-lining, too. No matter what you throw, look for slow water with great structure. The fish don’t want to work too hard when the water is this cold.

Grande Ronde River

The Grande Ronde has ice throughout the river. The predicted rain my break the ice up a little and make the river fishable by the weekend. Intruder style flies on a long leader can be effective. The lighter Mow tips can be effective as well, but bring extra flies—you’ll likely hook up on boulders when fishing the slower runs where the fish prefer. The last gauge reading around Troy, Oregon—before the Ronde iced over—was a little over 1,000 cfs.

Snake River

Throughout last week the Snake was been up and down on the gauge. It currently sits at 27,000 cfs and has a water temperature of 40 degrees. The same presentations recommended on the Clearwater can produce fish this time of year on the Snake.

Read past reports from the Lewiston region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.