Message from Fisheries Manager, Joe DuPont
Hi Everybody. It’s time for the Clearwater Region’s weekly Chinook Salmon update (5/23/18).
Run Update and Harvest Share
It’s getting late enough that we are starting to narrow down how many adult Chinook Salmon we think will make it to Idaho and what the harvest shares will be for spring Chinook fisheries in the Clearwater Region. The table below shows what we project will make it to Idaho based on a late timing run (average late – about 95% complete) and a run timing similar to what we saw in 2017 (unusually late - about 80% complete). In developing this table, I assumed that survival from Bonneville Dam to Lower Granite Dam would be lower than we typically see. I actually used survival rates that we observed in 2017 (about 65%) seeing flows are similar this year to last year.
Using the estimates above, I calculated what our harvest shares would be based on the different run timings and how many fish we need to collect for brood (see table below). Likely the harvest shares will end up somewhere in between the two estimates (last two columns). As I indicated last week, we will also be evaluating how well the PIT-tagged fish estimate the actual run size. We plan to do this in the first week of June. So, stay tuned, as there are some indications (based on last year’s jacks) that this could bump up the harvest share of the Rapid River run. However, if this occurs, don’t expect it to increase by much.
Fishery Update
We finally documented some Chinook Salmon being harvested last week in both the Clearwater River and Hells Canyon. For this reason, I’m going to start breaking down the Fishery Update into the different fisheries so you can easily focus on the area you like to fish.
Clearwater River Fishery
Last week we estimated that 22 fish were harvested in the Clearwater River. All the fish we observed were caught in section 1 (downstream of Cherrylane Bridge). You may find the table I created below very useful, as it will show where and when Chinook Salmon were harvested. I will update this table weekly. Pay attention to the section in blue as this shows what percent of the harvest share (target) we will be trying to allocate to each of the river sections. When we start getting close to the target, you can expect that river section to close relatively soon. With the forecast as low as it is, don’t expect these river section to remain open very long once the fish get there. Flows are forecasted to fluctuate between 60,000-69,000 cfs over this next four day period which means the water will be high and somewhat dirty with the occasional log floating by. As such, fishing closer to shore where slower velocities occur might be a good strategy – that is where we observed most fish being caught last week. If you like to fish further upstream, I suspect some fish have already made it to or past the North Fork, but if you fish there, don’t expect good catch rates.
Rapid River Fishery
We still haven’t observed any fish caught in the Salmon or Little Salmon rivers. Flows are supposed to remain above 60,000 cfs for the next week. At these flows, the Chinook have a tough time navigating the Slide Rapid (located below the fishery), so I don’t expect much to happen this week in this fishery. However, if you like to fish without the crowds, now is the time to do it. I remember a few years back fishing early, and the only people at the mouth of the Little Salmon were me and my buddy. It seemed strange not to have other people close by hooting and hollering, but I have to say I enjoyed it especially since we caught one. Once harvest starts occurring in this fishery, I will provide a table similar to the Clearwater Table that will show when and where fish are being caught. Be aware that with the harvest share we are forecasting (1,000 fish), this fishery may not last long once the fish get there.
Hells Canyon Fishery
We estimated that one Chinook Salmon was harvest from the Hells Canyon fishery (below Hells Canyon Dam). Flows are project to remain around 30,000 cfs which should allow fish to get to the Dam relatively fast. As such, I suspect enough fish will being stacking up behind the dam by this weekend that harvest will pick up.
That is all I have for you this week. I hope this helps as you plan for your Memorial Weekend. Have fun and stay safe.