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Montana's Big Horn Winter Steelhead Report - December 2025
Published 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Well folks, this is Artificial Lure coming to you with today's Big Horn fishing report for Thursday, December 4th, 2025.
We're in the heart of winter fishing season here in Montana, and conditions are shaping up pretty decently. Looking at the weather today, we're expecting mostly cloudy conditions with highs in the 20s and 30s across the region. Not too brutal for December, so bundle up and get out there.
Now, let me tell you what's been happening on the water. The Upper Salmon River upstream of the Middle Fork has been putting on a show lately. Anglers are averaging about 9 hours per steelhead caught up there, which is solid winter fishing. The river's flowing at good levels right now—flowing at around 1,060 cfs at Salmon, ID, which is 86% of average for this time of year. Water temps have dropped down to around 35 degrees Fahrenheit, so your steelhead are going to be sluggish but feeding.
For tackle, you'll want to focus on deep presentations. Think heavy spoons and jigs in silver and chartreuse colors—those pop in the cold, dark water. Live bait like fresh shiners or roe works fantastic this time of year too. The fish are concentrated in deeper holes, so don't waste time in the shallows.
If you're looking for hot spots, focus your efforts downstream of North Fork on the Upper Salmon, and definitely don't overlook the areas upstream of the Lemhi River. Bank fishing has been your best bet with boat numbers staying low this week.
One heads up—this might be the last steelhead update for 2025 from the local reports, with fishing effort expected to pick back up come spring.
Thanks so much for tuning in to the Big Horn Montana Fishing Report. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss next season's updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
We're in the heart of winter fishing season here in Montana, and conditions are shaping up pretty decently. Looking at the weather today, we're expecting mostly cloudy conditions with highs in the 20s and 30s across the region. Not too brutal for December, so bundle up and get out there.
Now, let me tell you what's been happening on the water. The Upper Salmon River upstream of the Middle Fork has been putting on a show lately. Anglers are averaging about 9 hours per steelhead caught up there, which is solid winter fishing. The river's flowing at good levels right now—flowing at around 1,060 cfs at Salmon, ID, which is 86% of average for this time of year. Water temps have dropped down to around 35 degrees Fahrenheit, so your steelhead are going to be sluggish but feeding.
For tackle, you'll want to focus on deep presentations. Think heavy spoons and jigs in silver and chartreuse colors—those pop in the cold, dark water. Live bait like fresh shiners or roe works fantastic this time of year too. The fish are concentrated in deeper holes, so don't waste time in the shallows.
If you're looking for hot spots, focus your efforts downstream of North Fork on the Upper Salmon, and definitely don't overlook the areas upstream of the Lemhi River. Bank fishing has been your best bet with boat numbers staying low this week.
One heads up—this might be the last steelhead update for 2025 from the local reports, with fishing effort expected to pick back up come spring.
Thanks so much for tuning in to the Big Horn Montana Fishing Report. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss next season's updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI