Although it is commonly thought that there is a positive relationship between trophic levels based on the 10% transfer efficiency rule, there is little understanding of the functional relationship between abundance at one trophic level and the next. Past studies in stream ecosystems have shown that increased invertebrate drift abundance may result in a lower than expected increase in fish abundance. To quantify the relationship between drifting invertebrate abundance and salmonid abundance, we sampled seven streams in the Panther Creek Watershed, Idaho, from June through October 2004. We sampled drift and snorkeled for salmonid abundance, and collected data on factors that may exert bottom-up control on invertebrate abundance such as benthic organic matter, periphyton, and nutrients. We found a positive relationship between standing crop chlorophyll a and drifting invertebrates as well as a positive relationship between drifting invertebrates and salmonid abundance. The relationship between invertebrate drift abundance and salmonid abundance appears to be lower than the proportional 10 to 1 relationship expected. Quantifying the relationship between the abundance of salmonids and abundance at lower trophic levels may help to explain variation in salmonid distribution and has important implications for using nutrient supplementation as a recovery strategy for fish populations.