[Nate Dutton]

Hey guys just had a question, has anyone fished it this year? Me and a buddy were thinking about going this weekend and doing a float. does anyone know if the water is even open? (ice free) Had anyone fished the river yet with success? Any info would be great as we are trying to see if we can fish it this weekend! Thanks in advance.

 

[Tyler Sadowski]

My cousin who lives in Moscow, said that is prob been pretty muddy so im guessing its ice free. This info is all second hand though. You could always call the red shed and ask them too. If its muddy I would stick the the north fork. Might be a lot of people on the road side but usually not on the opposite side. Good luck to ya. Let us know how it goes as im headed over in feb for a week or so.

 

[Nate Dutton]

Thanks Tyler! A call to Poppy at the Red shed is a great idea!!! Thats why we have this board! I forgot about that! But any info you guys have would still be great!

 

[Nate Dutton]

Bump....anyone?

 

[7687]

Thought you were going to call Poppy since he lives on the river? What did he say?

 

[Nate Dutton]

Well i gave Poppy a call and he said the river is running west..... He said he hasn't been down to the water in 3 days so he is not sure what it looks like, said it was muddy on the weekend but that it has been nice and might be cleared out. Still looking for some first hand accounts.... Anyone know of a good float? This will be my first time on the Clearwater and we are basically going blind..pm if you feel like it, thanks!

 

[BDD]

I can't help you with current conditions but I do have a friend planning to go soon. However, when I questioned him about floating it, he told me the South Fork Clearwater is closed to floating. I don't have a copy of the Idaho regulations but you may want to check if you are not sure.

 

[Panhandle]

Those fish are beat up.

 

[rick matney]

I hope you mean the Middle fork of the clearwater. Cause if not, you are seriously hardcore! Good luck on making it through without getting shot. The illegal part is the least of your concerns. I would worry more about the gun toting meth smoking locals. And yes they are my friends.

Fishing on the middle fork has been a little slow but it is fishable and should only get better.

 

[Guest]

I'm heading down there in a few weeks. My in-laws live in Grangeville - 20 mins from rivers edge. My father in-law drives UPS every day up and down that river. If you'd like, I'll call down there and PM you with a report.

Banked my only 20+ lbr there a few years back, the other was 18.5. My friend called me a "titty baby" cause my arm and shoulder cramped up after the second one - they where 25 mins apart - who could blame me!!?

The warning of the "combat" zone is real I'm afraid. I got blasted by gear chuckers! They tried to hook my line by casting over it, blah, blah, blah,...Hurt my feelings a little bit...but I had the last laugh!

My best advice, if you see Carharts & lawn chairs...ROW!

 

[Leroy Laviolet]

There is no reason for A BOAT up there, and after fishing it a time or two, I think you'll learn there is no reason to be up there period...
Watch "yer top" knot up there :clown:
You might consider a chastidy belt, worn back wards over yer waders ...:thumb:
My anal virginity survived two trips up there, I'll press my luck no further... There are some very nice folks up there, but...

 

[Ray]

The SF is open to floating and at certain flows is considered one of the best technical Class IV-V rivers in the area. That said, there are no boat launches to speak of, and I would only consider taking a raft or cataraft. The usgs gauge indicates that the river is pretty low, but it has a tendancy to change quickly with any precipitation.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?13338500