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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Bulk of steelhead over Bonneville, heading upstream

Steelhead counts over Lower Granite Dam, Aug. 30, 2011. (Fish Passage Center)
Steelhead counts over Lower Granite Dam, Aug. 30, 2011. (Fish Passage Center)

STEELHEAD FISHING -- With 262,300 steelhead reported over Bonneville Dam for this summer run, the counts are subsiding.

Now the fish are pouring upstream.  Even though the fishing has been good in Idaho's Clearwater River -- four hours per fish caught -- the bulk of the fish have yet to arrive. 

Even last weekend with temperatures over 100 degrees, the Dworshak Dam releases have kept the Clearwater River at 53 -56 degrees.

The big unknown is how much the fish will react when the Dworshak releases subside in the next few days or weeks.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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