Upper Salmon River Chinook update - 7/16/24

July 16, 2024

Hi everyone, during the last open period of the Upper Salmon River Chinook fishery (July 11 – July 14), we saw a slight decrease in angler effort, with approximately 1,216 angler hours targeting Chinook Salmon, but we did see an increase in catch (and catch rate). We estimated that anglers harvested 41 hatchery adults and 98 hatchery jacks. The average catch rate was 7 hours per salmon caught, and the harvest rate was 9 hours per salmon kept.

Below is a summary of the weekly and season totals for angler effort and catch:

HARVEST SHARE and HATCHERY UPDATE

The harvest share for the Upper Salmon River Chinook fishery remains at 296 hatchery adult Chinook Salmon. As shown in the table above, anglers have harvested 34% of the harvest share to date.

As of July 15th, 1,149 adipose-clipped adult salmon have returned to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. Hatchery trapping numbers are updated on the IDFG Hatchery Returns webpage, so make sure to bookmark that page if you want to stay up-to-date with the trapping totals. This means we have collected our broodstock, and Sawtooth hatchery staff will continue to recycle hatchery jacks and adult male hatchery Chinook Salmon into the fishery. Hatchery staff will recycle approximately 100 adult males and 200 jacks back into the fishery Wednesday.

RULES 

Nothing has changed since last week’s update regarding the fishery rules, but we are planning on continuing to include this paragraph in all upcoming reports to make it easier for anyone unaware of the rules to find the information.

The Upper Salmon River fishery is open 4 days a week (Thursday – Sunday), and it will reopen each Thursday until harvest share is reached, wild fish impacts are reached, or until August 10th, whichever comes first. The fishery is open from 100 yards upstream of the Valley Creek confluence to the posted boundary approximately 100 yards downstream of the weir and trap at the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. Fishing hours are from 5:30am to 10:00 pm MDT. The daily limit is four (4) hatchery Chinook salmon, only two (2) of which may be adults (over 24 inches). For the full season rules, please click here. 

RIVER CONDITIONS

The Upper Salmon River is currently flowing at about 697 cfs (measured at the gauge below the Yankee Fork) which is about 56% of average. These lower flows have resulted in excellent visibility through the fishery area for the past two weeks. Water temperatures on Friday and Saturday were in the mid-60’s °F but dropped on Sunday with the cooler weather. Warmer weather is forecasted again this weekend, with air temperatures near 90°F, so water temperatures will likely increase as well. 

 

BENCH LAKE FIRE– As many of you are already aware, a wildfire started near Redfish Lake last Thursday (July 11th) and has grown to nearly 1,300 acres. Sawtooth National Recreation Area officials issued an emergency closure of the Redfish Lake recreation complex, including the lodge and associated buildings, roads, trails, trailheads, and campgrounds in the area. At this point it is unclear how this fire may affect the Chinook fishery (or access to it), but please be aware of firefighting activity in the area and stay up to speed on area restrictions. For up-to-date information, please visit the InciWeb website for more details on current closures and fire activity.

If you have questions, comments, or would like to be added to my email update list, please reach out to me at: greg.schoby@idfg.idaho.gov or at the Salmon Regional Office at (208) 756-2271.