Idaho steelheading opens Sept. 1 on Snake, Salmon rivers

FISHING — The fall steelhead harvest season opens Tuesday, Sept. 1, on Idaho’s Snake, Salmon and Little Salmon rivers.

• The Snake River will be open from the Washington State line at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers upstream to Hells Canyon Dam.
• The Salmon River will be open from its mouth upstream to the posted boundary 100 yards downstream of Sawtooth Hatchery.
• The Little Salmon River will be open from its mouth upstream to the U.S. Highway 95 Bridge near Smokey Boulder road.

The limits on these waters are three per day and nine in possession.

The Clearwater upstream of the U.S. Highway 12 Memorial Bridge, the Middle Fork, North Fork and South Fork Clearwater rivers are catch-and-release only until Oct. 15, when the harvest season in those sections opens.

The harvest season already is open the two-mile stretch of the lower Clearwater River from its mouth to the U.S. Highway 12 Memorial Bridge near Lewiston.

The limits on the Clearwater are two per day and six in possession.

Anglers may keep 20 steelhead for the fall season, which ends Dec. 31. Only steelhead with a clipped adipose fin, evidenced by a healed scar, may be kept.  Any steelhead that has an intact adipose fin must be released unharmed.

See details on Idaho’s 2015 steelhead fishing rules .