Idaho fall chinook fishing to open Sept. 1, Coho could be added

Idaho Fish and Game Commission adopted a fall chinook salmon fishing season to open Sept. 1 on parts of the Snake, Clearwater and Salmon rivers, and Idaho could see its second-ever sport fishing season for Coho salmon on Sept. 1 pending commission approval in August. 

Commissioners approved opening dates for fall chinook fishing boundaries and rules during their meeting in Pocatello on Thursday, July 30. 

The 2015 fall chinook forecast is 37,000 hatchery and naturally-produced fall chinook to the Snake River basin. Last year’s run was 59,000 fall chinook.

Fall chinook fishing on the Snake River will be open from the Washington-Idaho border upstream to Hells Canyon Dam. 

Fishing on the Snake River from the Cliff Mountain Rapids (about a mile downstream of Hells Canyon Dam) is scheduled to be open until Oct.1, but could be closed sooner depending on the actual number of fish that return and the amount of harvest. The stretch between Hells Canyon Dam and Cliff Mountain Rapids is scheduled to remain open until Nov. 17, or until further notice. 

Other areas opening for fall chinook fishing on Sept. 1 are: 

The Clearwater River, from its mouth upstream to Memorial Bridge. Open until Oct. 31, or further notice. 

Salmon River, from its mouth upstream about three-fourths of a mile to Eye of the Needle Rapids until Oct. 31 or further notice.

A valid fishing license and salmon permit are required to fish for fall chinook. Only adipose-clipped salmon may be kept. The daily bag limit is six adult fall Chinook salmon, the possession limit is 18 adult fall chinook. There is no season limit on adult fall chinook. 

Only adult fall chinook (24-inches and longer) must be recorded on the angler’s salmon permit. There are no daily, possession or season limits on fall chinook jacks (those less than 24 inches). 

Coho fishing

Although fewer Coho are expected to return than last year, Idaho Fish and Game and the Nez Perce Tribe are expecting enough to provide a tribal and non-tribal sport fishery proposed to start Sept. 1. 

Fish and Game commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposal during their regular meeting Aug. 11. 

The proposal is to open a non-tribal Coho fishery on Sept. 1 in the main stem and Middle Fork Clearwater River from the mouth upstream to Clear Creek, near Kooskia and the North Fork Clearwater River below Dworshak Dam. 

If approved, the daily limit will be two fish per day and six in possession. 

Because Coho populations don’t have early maturing males, or “jacks,” to help biologists forecast returns, it’s difficult to know how many Coho will be available for anglers. Most Coho will arrive in Idaho in late September or early October. 

State and tribal managers will modify the fishery based on updates of the Coho run as fish come through the Columbia and Snake River dams.

Summer Chinook fishing to close on most rivers

Most of Idaho’s summer Chinook salmon fishing seasons are coming to a close Sunday, Aug. 2. 

Idaho Fish and Game will close fishing for spring/summer Chinook salmon on the mainstem Clearwater, Middle Fork Clearwater, South Fork Clearwater, Lochsa, Snake, and a section of the upper Salmon River from the Copper Mine to a posted boundary upstream of the mouth of Valley Creek near Stanley at the end of fishing hours on Aug. 2 (9 p.m. Pacific Time and 10 p.m. Mountain Time). 

Harvest of jack Chinook salmon (those under 24 inches) will continue on the upper Salmon River from the posted boundary upstream of Valley Creek upstream to the posted boundary about 100 yards downstream of the weir at Sawtooth Hatchery. This section will close to salmon fishing at 10 p.m. Mountain Time on Sunday, Aug. 9. 

The Chinook salmon fishing season continues on the Boise River through Sept. 30. The daily limit is two salmon, regardless of size. Fishing is permitted 24 hours a day and barbless hooks are not required.

Celebrate Idaho Free Fishing Day June 13

No fishing gear or experience? No problem! Saturday, June 13, is Idaho’s annual Free Fishing Day. Idaho Fish and Game invites residents, nonresidents, as well as veteran and novice anglers of all ages to celebrate the day by fishing anywhere in Idaho without a license. Even though a fishing license is not required for this special day, all other rules, such as limits and tackle restrictions, still remain in effect.

Make sure to grab a copy of the fishing regulations before you head out on the water. Free fishing day does include salmon fishing; anglers do not need a license or salmon permit, but they are still subject to all bag and possession limits.

Staff and volunteers will be available at seven locations around the region to help novice anglers learn the basics of fishing. Contests, activities and prizes will be awarded during these events. All of these locations will be freshly stocked with hungry hatchery rainbow trout. Look for an event near you and take a kid, friend or neighbor fishing. All events run from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. 

Elk City - Karolyn's Pond

Grangeville - Wilkin's Pond

Headquarters - Pierce/Weippe - Deer Creek Reservoir

Kooskia - Fenn Pond, 5 miles from Lowell on Forest Service Road 223. 

Lewiston - Mann Lake

Lewiston- Kiwanis Park Pond/Levee Pond 

Moscow/Troy - Spring Valley Reservoir

Contact the Clearwater Regional office for more information (208) 799-5010. Load up the family and come join us for a fun-filled day on water!

Chinook seasons open Saturday

The spring Chinook salmon fishing season will open April 25, on parts of the Clearwater, Lochsa, Salmon and Snake rivers.

The Chinook salmon return to Idaho this year is forecasted to be similar to the returns observed in 2014. As of April 15, over 13,500 Chinook have crossed Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, while 70 fish have crossed Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River. 

Fish and Game tailored the 2015 fisheries proposals to meet hatchery broodstock needs, focus fishing efforts in areas where hatchery fish are most abundant, and still allow fishing in river reaches that anglers have grown accustomed to fishing in recent years.

In the Clearwater Basin, except for the South Fork Clearwater River, limits are set at four fish per day, only one of which may be an adult. The possession limit in these parts of the Clearwater River drainage will be 12 fish, only three of which may be adults.

In the South Fork Clearwater, lower Salmon, Little Salmon and Snake River fisheries, anglers will be allowed to keep four fish per day, only two of which may be adults. The possession limit in these fisheries will be twelve fish, of which only six may be adults.

These areas will be open seven days a week. The season limit will be 20 adult Chinook salmon for seasons prior to Sept. 1. 

Only Chinook salmon with a clipped adipose fin, as evidenced by a healed scar, may be kept. Only adult Chinook salmon must be recorded on the salmon permit. An adult Chinook is any adipose fin-clipped Chinook 24 or more inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. Chinook salmon less than 24 inches (jacks) count against the daily limit but need not be recorded on the salmon permit. 

An angler must cease fishing for Chinook salmon once they have retained their daily, possession, or season limit of adult Chinook salmon or their overall (fish of any size) daily or possession limit of Chinook salmon, whichever comes first. 

Other rules and special restrictions for the Chinook salmon fishery are in the 2015 spring Chinook salmon brochure available at Fish and Game offices, license vendors, and online at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/fish/?getPage=110. 

The Commission will consider Chinook salmon fisheries on the South Fork Salmon and upper Salmon Rivers at its May 20 meeting in Lewiston. Fish return to those areas later than to the Clearwater River and Rapid River Hatcheries, giving managers more time to develop fishery proposals for those areas.