by Don Whitney
Hi folks,
The Clearwater Region’s spring Chinook Salmon fisheries update is comparatively brief this week. A few changes occurred since last week’s update. The Clearwater River from Cherrylane Bridge upstream to Orofino Bridge and the North Fork Clearwater River are now closed for spring Chinook Salmon. The Fish and Game Commission approved the summer Chinook Salmon season on the Lochsa and increased the season limit for adult Chinook Salmon to 20 fish.
The projected spring Chinook Salmon harvest shares for June, 17, 2025 are shown in the table below. The Clearwater River return’s harvest share is projected to be 5,027 adult fish; the Rapid River return is projected to have a harvest share of 1,572 adult fish; and the Hells Canyon fishery is projected to have a harvest share of 619 fish.
Last week in the Clearwater River basin we estimated 427 fish were harvested (see table below). We expect the Middle Fork Clearwater around Clear Creek and the South Fork Clearwater will be the higher harvest areas based on last weeks data.
The lower Salmon River spring Chinook Salmon fishery is closed. The Little Salmon will be open this Thursday through Sunday, below is the link to the article posted today about the Little Salmon River.
We estimated that 35 adults and 30 jacks were harvested last week below Hells Canyon Dam (see table below). We still have enough harvest share to continue through this week, stay tuned for potential changes to the Hells Canyon fishery.
The following webpage https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/chinook/rules is an easy way to keep up to date with fisheries. Additionally, feel free to call any of the offices for updates on any new seasons and limits.
Have a great week!
