Chinook Salmon Fishery Update (6/20/2023): Clearwater River Return, Rapid River Run, Hells Canyon, and Lochsa River Fisheries

Hi everybody.

It is time for my weekly Chinook Salmon update (6/20/2023). All river section in the Clearwater basin and Snake River will remain open for at least another week. The fishery in the lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers are now closed. For more details, read on.

RUN UPDATE

Harvest shares using data through June 20, 2023 are provided in the table below. The Clearwater River return’s harvest share is about 3,300 adult fish (darker peach row), the Rapid River return (darker blue row) is about 1890 fish, and Hells Canyon’s (green row) is about 356 fish. You will also notice that I added the Lochsa summer run to this table which has an estimated harvest share of 61 fish. This fishery opens June 22, 2023 (this Thursday). Read below for more information on this fishery.

FISHERIES

Clearwater River Basin Fishery

Harvest dropped off in all river sections last week except for the South Fork Clearwater River (see table below). The best catch rates were in section 8 of the South Fork (9 hrs/fish) and the North Fork (11 hrs/fish). Last week, I told you that the North Fork Clearwater could potentially close if harvest picked up some. Harvest actually dropped (we estimated 140 were harvested) last week, and we now estimate that a total of 583 adult fish have been harvested to date. This means we have about 240 more fish we can harvest before 25% of the overall harvest share is harvested from the North Fork (our goal this year). For this reason, the North Fork Clearwater River will remain open for at least another week. All other river sections are far short of reaching their harvest goals and will also remain open for at least another week.

Rapid River Run Fishery

The Rapid River Run fishery closed last Wednesday (June 14, 2023) at the end of fishing hours. This fishery was fast and furious and lasted less than two weeks in most river sections once the fish got there. Despite the smaller return, we actually documented some of the best catch rates in over 10 years around Riggins. Unfortunately, when you combine great catch rates and a smaller return, the season will not last long. 

I do need to mention that I received more complaints this year about poor fish handling practices than I have in a long time. I suspect this was because more people were catch-and-releasing fish due to the great catch rates, and some were overeager to get back to fishing while the catching was good. These are amazing fish that have gone through a tremendous journey and defined the odds (fewer than 1% survive to make this journey) to provide a fishery for you. If you choose to release a fish, please treat it with respect so it can finish its journey and help provide fisheries into the future. Also, if you catch a fish that is hooked in the gills and will likely die, the ethical thing to do is keep that fish (assuming it is a legally caught hatchery fish).

Hells Canyon Fishery

We estimated that 41 adult Chinook Salmon were harvested (catch rate of 12 hrs/fish) below Hells Canyon Dam last week which brings the season total to 271 fish (see table below). That leaves us with 87 fish in our harvest share. As such, this fishery will continue for at least another week.

Lochsa Summer Run Fishery

Last week the Fish and Game Commission decided to open a summer Chinook Salmon fishery in the Lochsa River starting on June 22, 2023. This fishery is based on a relatively small return of salmon that we estimate will provide a harvest share of around 60 fish. As such, this fishery may not last long. 

Generally, the regulations are as follows: fishing is allowed seven days a week; the daily-limit is one adult fish; either adipose clipped or unclipped fish can be kept. For more details on the season and limits for this fishery, please visit this webpage (https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/chinook/rules).

In case you were wondering, most of these fish are making the migration from Lower Granite Dam to the Lochsa River in 6 to 10 days. Based on the timing of PIT tag detections at Lower Granite Dam, over 350 of these fish will be in the Lochsa River when this fishery opens.

Believe it or not, today is the last day of Spring. 

Have a great summer!