Lewiston Idaho Fishing Report 11.30.17

Clearwater, Grande Ronde and Snake Rivers

All of our regional rivers are very large right now. The water is on its way down, so hopefully it will drop to a fishable flow by the weekend. Clarity on the Snake is about a foot and a half. The Clearwater’s clarity is a bit better than the Snake, but high flows on this river means you could be casting in the bushes, which is difficult. The river could drop a couple thousand cubic feet per second by the weekend, allowing for more casting room. We haven’t had any reports from the Grande Ronde. The CFS on the Ronde is really high, and makes for dangerous wading conditions. Be careful if you’re planning to fish this week, take a buddy or let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return.

Before you throw in the towel, however, realize that fishing can turn into catching when rivers are on the drop. The fish like to move around a lot during this time. When the rivers are up I like to fish a black and blue Hoh-Bo Spey or a chartreuse and black Loop Leech because the bigger the profile makes them visible. Using tips can help you greatly with high water. Using T-14 will get your fly down and with proper mending you can slow your presentation. Focusing your time on the slower runs and inside corners of gravel bars might bring you fish. If you are on the fence about traveling over to fish, I would travel and come fish. Fishing higher water teaches new tactics, and should make you a better angle.

Flows:

Clearwater River (at Peck) 12,100 cfs

Grande Ronde 2,510 cos

Snake 24,500 cfs

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