SPEY FISHING GUIDE
EXPERIENCE CLEARWATER STEELHEAD LIKE NO OTHER
Spey fishing for the prized Clearwater B-Run Steelhead is a popular and growing endeavor. The popularity of two handed fly casting for steelhead has grown to be a huge deal.
Every year, fly anglers come from all over the country and even other countries travel to participate in spey rod dry line swinging for the prized B-Run Steelhead. Our spey fishing guide, Tracy Allen, has never fished for or caught a Steelhead any other way in his life.
He is the authority of Spey fishing for Steelhead on the Clearwater River with 30 years experience.
STEELHEAD SPEY FISHING SEASON
The Clearwater River, home of Idaho's iconic B-Run Steelhead, has a reputation of being one of the top Steelhead and Salmon fishing destinations in the United States. In this popular fishery, B-Run Steelhead average 10-20 lbs.
Experience spey fly Steelhead fishing on the famous Clearwater River. The Clearwater is one of the greatest dry line steelhead fly fishing destination in the world. The Clearwater River is big water and so are the fish.
Giant B-Run steelhead swim up stream in these waters on their journey to find their natural spawning habitat. You will find yourself wading near a shallow riffle in a beautiful canyon with high rolling hills cover sparsely with pine trees. You shoot your cast out over this beautiful setting and deliver your fly ever so precisely. As your line and its fly catch current and swing down below you the anticipation of that next reel screaming grab haunts you...
Our Spey Fishing Guide specialist, Tracy Allen, lives this life of Steelhead and Fly. Tracy is a professional angler and guide who understands what it takes to connect our clients to the elusive B-Run Steelhead. Dry line swinging for steelhead is one of the most challenging yet rewarding ways that any angler can experience a B-Run Steelhead. Line burning runs that take you well into the backing are a given. These giant sea run trout are no average fish. You will battle and sometimes you will loose, but you will never forget...
All Fishing Guides on the Clearwater River are regulated by the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board. We are
one of only 8 fishing guide outfits that are licensed by the State of Idaho to all guided fishing trips on the Clearwater River.
Why I fish the Clearwater River with C.R.O.
BY CRAIG FRUIN
Steelhead have a way of changing people. For me, it started when I was 15, standing on the banks of a Great Lake tributary with borrowed gear and no idea what I was doing. The pull of that first steelhead was more than just a fish on the line—it was the beginning of an obsession. Over the years, that obsession carried me across rivers and borders, eventually taking root in the wild, rugged waters of Northern British Columbia. I spent a decade chasing ghosts on the Skeena, sleeping in the back of my truck, eating cold sandwiches, and never once complaining—because every cast was a shot at magic.
And then I found the Clearwater River.
It was 2013 when I first laid eyes on the stretch between Kamiah and Lewiston. I didn’t know it then, but I’d found home. From that moment forward, the Skeena saw no more of me. I had fallen in love with a river.
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At the time, I was living in Calgary. Four or five times a year, I’d finish work, drive through the night—ten hours straight—skip sleep, and fish until my arms gave out. The Clearwater had that kind of hold on me. It still does.
When we moved to Spokane in 2018, I was finally just three hours away from my favorite place in the world. It was opening day—July 1st—and I stopped at The Stinker Store, just outside of Orofino, to throw on my waders. That’s when I met Tracy Allen.
He looked over and asked if I’d really come all the way from Calgary for opening day. We laughed, talked for 40 minutes like old friends, and he invited me onto his boat. That day I hooked—and lost—a steelhead. It might have been the only fish seen for miles that early in the season. Still, something incredible happened: I didn’t just meet a guide—I met one of the finest human beings I’ve ever known.
Tracy has been guiding the Clearwater for over 40 years. He’s seen it all. The booms. The busts. The floods. The droughts. The fishless winters and the miracle days. But what sets him apart isn’t just experience—it’s the heart and generosity he brings to the water. His ability to teach two-handed casting—what some call fishing for unicorns—is unmatched. Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned vet, Tracy will make you better. He’ll challenge your habits, sharpen your skills, and open your eyes to nuances you didn’t know were there.
People sometimes ask me why I still hire a guide when I fish 40 to 50 days a year, often alone or with family. The answer is simple: Tracy makes every day on the water better. I could go alone—but when I fish with him, I don’t have to wonder if I’m in the right spot. I’m not second-guessing my fly, or my cast, or whether I should’ve fished the other seam. There’s no anxiety about why the gear guys are catching and I’m not. Tracy brings clarity, confidence, and an incredible amount of value—not just in fish numbers, but in the richness of the experience.
Fishing with Tracy is like seeing the river through a new lens—one polished by decades of patience, failures, triumphs, and deep respect for the fish. He doesn’t just guide you. He shares the soul of the Clearwater.
My wife is also a steelheader, and our shared passion for these fish has shaped our life. But the truth is, our love for this river, the landscape, and the community that surrounds it outweighs the thrill of any single catch. Steelhead aren’t just fish—they’re moments. They’re magic. They’re rare. Each one feels like you’ve been rewarded by the river itself, like you’ve done something right in the universe. And even when we don’t catch fish, we leave the water better people than when we arrived, together.
Through the Clearwater, I’ve found lifelong friendships, unforgettable stories, and a deeper connection to something wild and humbling. The valley itself—the misty mornings in Kamiah, the golden light near Lewiston, the way the canyon holds its silence—is sacred. It’s where I come to reset. To remember why I fish in the first place.
And through it all, Tracy Allen and the team at Clearwater River Outfitters have been there. Quiet professionals. Gentle mentors. Steelhead fanatics who understand that this pursuit is about so much more than numbers. They embody what makes the Clearwater special.
So why do I fish the Clearwater with Tracy Allen?
Because even after thousands of casts and hundreds of days on the water, I still want to learn. I still want to grow. And I still want to share the river with people who love it as much as I do.
Because some guides teach you how to fish.
But the great ones?
They teach you why you fish.
And that, to me, is everything.
