The Middle Fork offers excellent trout fishing, mostly west slope cutthroats and rainbows. Only single, barbless artificial flies and lures are permitted on this blue-ribbon, catch-and-release river.

We catch fewer fish in the deeper waters of the Main Salmon. The tributaries, however, are fun to fish and we will often camp near one of these side streams.

Getting a License

Licenses are mandatory and can be purchased at most sports shops in Boise. You can also purchase one through the Idaho Department of Fish and Game online at fishandgame.idaho.gov, or toll free (800) 554-8685 with a credit card. Call AT LEAST 4 WEEKS before your trip. You may choose the number of days for which you would like to have a license. In our experience, days 2, 3, and 4 on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon offer the best fishing. Last-minute purchases can be made in Boise at Jolley's, 3412 West State (208-342-6419) between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., 7 days/week.

Getting Your Tackle

To order flies, or talk specifics, in Boise we recommend:
Idaho Angler, 1682 Vista, Boise, ID (very close to airport hotels; Vista is the main road from the airport into town), call 208-389-9957 or toll free 800-787-9957. Other good resources are McCoy's Tackle Shop in Stanley, Idaho (208-774-3377), and idahoangler.com.

The Middle Fork is relatively narrow, so 8' or 9' fly rods work fine with 3-5 pound floating line and 4-5 pound tippets. For spin casting, we have found that number one lures do fine with 4-6 pound line. Rooster tails and Mepps style lures work well, but the extra barbs have to be cut off so only a single, barbless hook remains.

For fly fishing, we can recommend the following:
Dry flies: Hoppers #6-12, Wulffs #10-16, humpies #10-16, gray & tan caddis #12-14, ants, brown stone flies.
Wet flies: Bitch Creek Nymphs; Wooly Buggers #6-10; Muddlers #4; Bead Head Nymphs #12-16. With our sunny days, polarized glasses are heartily recommended.