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Idaho’s chinook season proposals limit fishing days

Fishing seasons for spring chinook are likely to come with slim harvest shares this year, according to new proposals from Idaho Fish and Game. (Courtesy)
By Eric Barker The Lewiston Tribune

Fisheries managers at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are asking anglers if they’d prefer to fish just two days a week for spring chinook and be able to keep one adult salmon each day or if they’d like to fish four days a week but only be able to keep an adult fish on one of them.

The “would you rather” question pertains to the Clearwater River and its tributaries and is prompted by what is expected to be another down year for spring chinook returns. Regional fish manager Joe DuPont elicited sighs and groans from anglers at a meeting in Lewiston Wednesday when he informed them the state’s harvest share for the Clearwater River is expected to fall shy of 500 fish.

“I hate this, and I know you guys hate this, but when we have runs like this we have to go to some extreme measures,” DuPont said.

A harvest share is the number of fish anglers can catch while leaving enough chinook to return to hatcheries for spawning the next generation of salmon. According to preliminary calculations, sport anglers licensed by the state would be able to catch 468 adult chinook during the spring season, as would Nez Perce Tribal fishers. That would allow 4,729 adult chinook to return to hatcheries and produce 6.4 million smolts for later release.

The proposed season structure limiting adult harvest to just one or two days a week would be a first for the state. The season would also include closures on several sections of rivers. For example, on the Clearwater River fishing would be allowed from the Camas Prairie Railroad bridge at Lewiston to the U.S. Highway 12 bridge at Arrow and from the Pink House Boat Ramp near Orofino to the Greer Bridge. Fishing from boats would not be allowed on the North Fork Clearwater below Dworshak Dam. Fishing would be allowed on the Middle Fork Clearwater River, but the South Fork of the Clearwater River would be open only from the Harpster Grade to the Mount Idaho Grade Bridge.

Proposed fishing regulations on the lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers targeting chinook returning to Rapid River Hatchery will also operate on narrow harvest shares. There, the department is expecting the run to support a harvest share of about 1,478 adult chinook and is proposing a four-day-a-week fishing season, likely Thursdays through Sundays during which anglers would be able to keep two adult chinook per day. Fishing would be allowed on the lower Salmon River from Rice Creek near Cottonwood to Vinegar Creek Boat Ramp east of Riggins and on the Little Salmon River from its mouth to Smokey Boulder Road.

The state is not proposing a fishery on the Snake River in Hells Canyon this year. High flows from Hells Canyon Dam two years ago produced elevated dissolved gas levels that threatened to harm juvenile chinook. Because of that, the state opted not to release fish there and instead released more smolts from Rapid River Hatchery.

Those who wish to comment on the proposed seasons can do so by contacting DuPont either by phone at (208) 799-5010, mail to 3316 16th St. Lewiston, ID 83501 or email to joe.dupont@idfg.idaho.gov.