Anglers can now provide comments on F&G’s fishing seasons and fish management plan and attend public meetings to get more information

Anglers have not one, but three different opportunities to leave public comments and shape Idaho’s fisheries:

• 2025-27 Statewide Fishing Seasons and Rules
• The (New) 6-Year Statewide Fish Management Plan
• 2024 Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon Fishing Seasons and Bag Limits

Idaho Fish and Game highly encourages angler input, so staff is also hosting meetings throughout the state to provide information and take comments in person. The collective voices of Idaho’s anglers help direct important decisions involving species and population management, as well as seasons and bag limits.

Click here to review proposals and provide input

Public Meetings

Starting on Feb. 12 and running throughout the rest of the month, Fish and Game will be hosting a series of in-person open houses and public meetings in various parts of the state.  

February 12: Riggins, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. MST, Riggins Community Center at 121 Lodge St.

February 13: Lewiston, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. PST, Clearwater Regional Office at 3316 16th St.

February 13: Cascade, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. MST, Valley EOC Building at 108 W Spring St.

February 13: Jerome, 6 – 8 p.m. MST, IDFG Magic Valley Regional Office at 324 S. 417 E., Hwy 93 Business Park. 

February 13: Salmon, 6:00 – 8 p.m. MST, IDFG Salmon Regional Office at 99 Hwy 93 North. 

February 15: Orofino, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. PST, IDFG Clearwater Hatchery at 118 Hatchery Roe Dr.

February 20: Hailey, 6:30 – 8 p.m. MST, Blaine County Community Campus at 1050 Fox Acres Rd. 

February 20: Boise, open house, 10 a.m.– 5 p.m. MST, public meeting, 5:30 – 8 p.m. MST, IDFG Headquarters at 600 S. Walnut St. 

February 21: Idaho Falls, 7 – 8:30 p.m. MST,  IDFG Upper Snake Regional Office at 4279 Commerce Circle

February 21: Nampa, open house 10 a.m – 5 p.m MST, public meeting, 5:30 – 8 pm MST, IDFG Southwest Regional Office at 15950 N. Gate Blvd.

February 21: Moscow, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. PST, 1912 Center at 412 E 3rd St.

February 21: Coeur d’Alene, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. PST, IDFG Panhandle Regional Office at 2885 W. Kathleen Ave. 

February 27: Pocatello, 5:30 – 8 p.m. MST, IDFG Southeast Regional Office at 1345 Barton Rd.

2025-27 Statewide Fishing Seasons and Rules 

Fish and Game staff is asking anglers to suggest ideas for changes to seasons, limits, and rules—or support for existing regulations—for the upcoming three-year period. This is a two-step process. After gathering ideas from the public, fisheries staff will take anglers’ suggested changes and draw up a set of informal proposals that the Commission will consider as proposed changes at its May 16 meeting in Coeur d’Alene. 

Deadline to provide ideas for changes to the three-year seasons and rules is March 10.

After the Commission adopts a formal set of proposals in May, those formal proposals will go through a second public comment period during late spring/early summer with the Commission scheduled to finalize the 2025-27 Fishing Seasons and Rules at its July 24 meeting in Pocatello. 

Statewide Fish Management Plan 

This document sets the overall framework for managing fishing waters throughout the state and lasts six years. It does not include seasons and bag limits, but it outlines different management strategies, such as which species a body of water is managed for, which species gets priority when multiple species are present, types of angling (general harvest, trophy fish management, etc.) and other factors. 

The deadline to propose changes for this first draft plan is April 12.

The document is lengthy (388 pages), so anglers should focus their attention on their favorite bodies of water and suggest changes to those management goals if needed. Like the 2025-27 seasons and rules, this will be a multi-part process with the department gathering ideas from anglers, then revising and updating the old plan into a draft that the Commission will consider in July. 

Afterward, the draft plan will be available for another round of public comment during the summer/fall of 2024. Once those comments are collected and reviewed, the Commission is scheduled to consider the updated version of the statewide Fish Management Plan at its Nov. 7 meeting held in Salmon, Idaho.

2024 Spring/Summer Chinook Fishing Season 

Fish and Game staff has proposed opening dates, days of fishing, river sections and bag limits. They are asking anglers for their preferences on those options. 

The 2024 Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon seasons are scheduled to be set by the Fish and Game Commission at its March 20 in Boise. 

The deadline for public comment is March 3. 

For more information on some (or all) of these public comment opportunities, contact your local Fish and Game regional office. The regional fisheries manager and fisheries staff are happy to assist you and chat about concerns or questions you may have.