Clearwater River, Idaho

Lewiston to Spalding

The Clearwater ends at Lewiston, where it meets the Snake, and the first dozen miles upstream from the confluence are where steelhead stack up before pushing on. The US 95 bridge, the Memorial Bridge in Lewiston and the Spalding area all have bank and boat access, and this lower water is the first to fill with fish in September when the Snake is still too warm.

Orofino and Ahsahka

US 12 follows the river the whole way, so the Clearwater fishes as a drive-and-stop river with pullouts every few miles. Orofino is the hub town, with a string of named runs above and below it. At Ahsahka, a few miles upstream of Orofino, the North Fork comes in below Dworshak Dam, and the cold water from the dam plus the returns to Dworshak National Fish Hatchery make the confluence some of the most reliable holding water on the river.

Above Orofino

From Orofino the river runs another 40 miles up to Kooskia, where the South Fork joins, and on to Lowell, where the Lochsa and Selway meet to form it. Pressure thins out upstream and the fish arrive later. In summer this upper water is a trout and whitefish river, with westslope cutthroat in the upper main stem and its forks and smallmouth bass in the warmer lower reaches.

B-run steelhead

The Clearwater's B-run fish spend two or three years in the ocean and return larger than the A-run steelhead bound for the Snake and Salmon. They begin showing in the lower river in late summer and the run peaks in October. Most of the fish caught are hatchery returns to Dworshak; wild steelhead are present and must be released. Two-hand rods with Skagit or Scandi heads are the standard way to cover the wide runs, and the lower river fishes best once flows settle into the fall.

Season and regulations

Guides and reports treat 4,000 to 5,000 cfs as the sweet spot on the Clearwater; below 3,000 cfs some runs go too shallow and above 7,000 cfs the productive holes get too fast to swing. Summer runoff pushes the river past 20,000 cfs, which is why the fishery waits for fall. The 3,000 to 7,000 cfs band is what this page compares the Spalding gauge against.

IDFG sets a fall steelhead season on the Clearwater that runs from September into December and a spring season from January into spring, with the upper river above the Lewiston Memorial Bridge opening later and starting as catch-and-release. Only adipose-clipped hatchery steelhead may be kept and a steelhead permit is required on top of the license. Seasons, limits and gear rules change year to year, so check the current IDFG steelhead seasons and rules before you go.