Upper Salmon River Chinook update - 7/25/2024

July 25, 2024

During the last open period of the Upper Salmon River Chinook fishery (July 18 – July 21), we observed a large decrease in angler effort, but the catch and harvest rates were the best we have seen so far this season. Angler effort was estimated at 625 hours which was approximately a 50 percent decrease from the previous week. We estimated that anglers harvested 31 adipose-clipped adult salmon and 51 adipose-clipped jack salmon. The average catch rate was 5 hours per salmon caught, and the average harvest rate was 8 hours per salmon kept. 

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

HARVEST SHARE and HATCHERY UPDATE

Since last week’s report, the harvest share for the Upper Salmon River Chinook fishery has increased to 377 hatchery adult Chinook Salmon. This increase was due to two more PIT-tagged adult salmon crossing over Lower Granite Dam during the past week. It was assumed that these are two PIT-tagged fish had died somewhere throughout their migration, as it took them much longer than normal to travel from Bonneville Dam to Lower Granite Dam.  Normally, it takes adult Chinook less than 21 days to make this migration, while these two fish spent 34 and 39 days making the journey. As shown in the table above, anglers have harvested 35% of this increased harvest share to date.

As of July 24th, 1,273 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 150 salmon back into the fishery on Thursday, July 25th.

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

Flows on the Upper Salmon River continue to drop, and the river is currently flowing at about 565 cfs (measured at the gauge below the Yankee Fork) which is about 60% of average. These lower flows have resulted in excellent visibility in the fishery area for the past month. On Sunday, midday water temperatures were near 68°F. 

BENCH LAKE FIRE

As many of you are already aware, the Bench Lake fire near Redfish Lake started on July 11th and since then, it has grown to nearly 2,600 acres. Sawtooth National Recreation Area officials have recently expanded their earlier emergency closure of the Redfish Lake recreation complex, including the lodge and associated buildings, roads, trails, trailheads, and campgrounds in the area. 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.