Upper Salmon River Chinook Update - 7/31/2024

July 31, 2024

During last week's interval for the Upper Salmon River Chinook fishery (July 25 – July 28), angler effort decreased slightly, but average catch and harvest rates continued to improve. Angler effort was estimated at 528 hours which was about 100 hours lower than the previous week. We estimated that anglers harvested 50 adipose-clipped adult salmon and 68 adipose-clipped jack salmon. Average catch and harvest rates were both at 4 hours per salmon which were the best rates observed so far during the 2024 fishery

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

HARVEST SHARE and HATCHERY UPDATE

No additional Sawtooth Hatchery PIT-tagged salmon are expected to cross Lower Granite Dam, so the harvest share will remain at 377 hatchery adult Chinook Salmon. As shown in the table above, anglers have harvested 48% of the harvest share to date.

As of July 29th, 1,311 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 Chinook Salmon back into the fishery. Hatchery staff will recycle approximately 75 hatchery jack salmon on Thursday, August 1st.

RULES 

Nothing has changed since last week’s update regarding the fishery rules, but we are planning on continuing to include this paragraph in our 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 remain similar to last week, and the river is currently flowing at 551 cfs (measured at the gauge below the Yankee Fork) which is about 71% of average. The lower flows this year have resulted in excellent visibility within the fishery area for the past month, and on Sunday, midday water temperatures were near 60°F. 

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.