Middle Fork Salmon Fishing

An Idaho fishing license is mandatory, and can be purchased just before you arrive if it is an in-person purchase. If you look at Idaho Fish and Game’s website, it will direct you to options for online purchases that can be mailed to you (allow 3-4 weeks for this option), or also in-person vendors in Salmon and around Idaho. Idaho also has the option to purchase a fishing license just for the time you are on the river.

The fishing we will do is primarily inside of our fishing rafts, and you will not need waders. With these trips being in the middle of the summer, the temperatures are very pleasant and walk-and-wade fishing from the bank and on side streams can be done without waders.

WRO guides bring a spare rod, a handful of popular flies, and leader and tippet, but we recommend guests bring their own 4-5 weight rod (cutthroat) and fly assortment. Early season (Before August) sees large aquatic populations such as stone/ salmon flies and caddisflies, while later in the year terrestrial patterns take over, such as ants, bees, hoppers and dragonflies. Please be sure that hooks are single-hooked and barbless. We recommend checking out the local fly shop in Salmon, ID (the Fly Box) to consult and stock up on what’s biting before your trip.

This is dependent on the area you are fishing, but for all rivers you will need single, barbless hooks without bait. The Middle Fork Salmon is catch and release-only for all fish.

Our Fall 3 day trips are exclusively fishing frames, fishing guides, and fishing-focused. If you are interested in a fishing spot on one of our 6 day standard trips, you will need to speak to our office about availability of guides/ fishing frames. There are always opportunities for fishing off of our standard raft set ups and at camp.

It depends on the time of year, and on the child. We generally suggest 8 years old as a minimum for most Middle Fork trips. Contact us to ask about your child age and river dates.

We always carry a satellite communication device for emergency situations and stay in contact with WRO staff in Salmon, who are aware of our location and campsites during the trip. If our office staff is notified of an emergency they will let our crew know, but it is definitely not immediate as we are typically traveling in remote wilderness areas.

All of our trip leaders are certified Wilderness First Responders, along with the majority of our other highly capable guides, several of whom are Wilderness EMTs. All guides are trained in Swiftwater Rescue. Evacuation plans are in place for each trip in case of an emergency, and a satellite communication device is carried at all times.

Guides are usually tipped 10-20% of the cost of the trip, more for exceptional service. The guides equally split the total tip amount from each guest. They are most appreciative of receiving this directly from the guest, either at the end of your trip or at the farewell dinner, so we recommend planning ahead to have cash or checks on hand. Please do not make tip checks out to Wilderness River Outfitters. They will need to be made out to the guide or to cash. Most of the guides also use Venmo.

We do offer chartered trips. You often will need to plan these types of trips well in advance, as you will be booking out the entire trip for your group and need the launch date to be empty. Chartered trips must pay for the entire slot to reserve the trip, which minimum number of guests vary depending on the river you are interested in. Ask the office for additional details on chartering a trip with us or check out our "Charter Trips" page.