FISHING -- Anglers fishing the Clearwater River are enjoying a healthy increase in the number of steelhead returning, according to the Idaho Fish and Game Department.

After a lackluster season in 2013-2014, the number of “B-run” steelhead is up in 2015, and anglers are taking advantage.

Creel surveys and angler reports for the week ending on Jan. 25 indicate good success among anglers fishing the Clearwater with 265 anglers reported catching 277 steelhead.

"Numerous anglers have reported catching their daily limit of three hatchery steelhead this month; in some cases harvesting their limit within a few hours," according to the regional fisheries report.

Overall, anglers averaged one fish every five hours during the seven day period, with much of the action taking place on the weekend.

North Fork Clearwater anglers averaged 10 hours per fish during the week of ending Jan. 25. Anglers are not only catching fish in large numbers, they are also catching some large steelhead; as long as 37 inches.

Fishery managers expect angler success to remain high throughout the Clearwater drainage over the next three months. Anglers are also finding steelhead in the Salmon and Snake Rivers, and catch rates are likely to improve as water temperatures rise during the approach of spring.

• See more information on steelhead fishing in Idaho