Hey Everyone.
The Little Salmon River fishery picked up considerably over this last fishing interval. We estimated a very similar amount of effort this interval as compared to the previous interval, but catch rates improved to 7 hours per fish caught! As you can see in the table below, we estimated 325 clipped adults were harvested in the Little Salmon River this past interval. Below is a breakdown of our daily estimates for Thursday (6/13) through Sunday (6/16).
In section 3 on the lower Salmon River, we estimated 116 clipped adults were harvested this past interval (see table below).
The current harvest share for the Rapid River Run is 2,407 clipped adult Salmon. Although we were aiming for 55% of that harvest share to be taken from the lower Salmon River, and 45% to be taken from the Little Salmon River, we are closing the lower Salmon River before that 55% target is reached.
At this point in the year there are several stocks of Chinook Salmon in the Salmon River, making their way through the Riggins area. Some of those stocks (Pahsimeroi and South Fork Salmon) are not projected to make broodstock needs this year. Therefore, we need to minimize impacts to those stocks. One way we can do that is by concentrating harvest on the Rapid River Run in the Little Salmon River only. Yesterday, June 17th, we issued a closure order for the lower Salmon River (section 3).
In total, 1,045 clipped Chinook Salmon were harvested in the lower Salmon River this season, which is 43% of the total Rapid River Run harvest share. Now that the lower Salmon River is closed, this means the Little Salmon River will get 57% of the Rapid River Run harvest share in 2024. I’m sure Little Salmon River anglers will appreciate this extra little bit of harvest share, considering last year 70% of the share went to the lower Salmon River and the Little Salmon only got 30%.
So far, we’ve estimated 602 clipped adults have been harvested from the Little Salmon River this season (see table below), which leaves 757 clipped adults remaining in the harvest share. The Little Salmon River will remain open for at least one more fishing interval (likely more) before harvest share is met. Stay tuned for next week’s update to see how much harvest share remains after this weekend.
Rapid River Fish Trap – As of today (June 18) there are 1,448 clipped adults being held on station at the Rapid River Fish Hatchery. Broodstock needs this year are 2,394 adults, so there are approximately 1,000 adult left to trap before broodstock needs are met for the season. The hatchery will start recycling trapped jacks into the fishery this week.
Summer Chinook Seasons
Last week, the IDFG Commission met via conference call and approved summer Chinook Salmon season for the Upper Salmon and Lochsa Rivers. Those seasons will open Thursday, June 20. For full details on projected harvest shares, season structure, and daily bag limits – see the News Release.