The Fish and Game Commission approved a coho Salmon season on the Snake River that started on September 3, and the coho season on the Clearwater River opened Sept. 1, which means there's a coho salmon season in both the Snake and Clearwater rivers for the first time in over 100 years.
Fish and Game is able to provide these opportunities because fisheries managers are expecting a record number of coho to pass over Lower Granite Dam this year.
Fall Chinook Salmon
The fall Chinook Salmon run is really picking up at Bonneville Dam, and although the run is still early, it looks like the return to Idaho could come in greater than the forecasted, and larger than last year. Trapping of broodstock at Lower Granite Dam has also been going better than expected, and for that reason, the trap rate at Lower Granite Dam will be reduced from 70 percent to 18 percent on Sept. 2, which means more Chinook crossing Lower Granite Dam and fewer fish removed at the dam for broodstock should result in more fish available for anglers in the rivers better fishing in the near future.