Spring Chinook Salmon Fishery Update (7/12/2022)
Clearwater River Return, Rapid River Run, Hells Canyon and Lochsa River Fisheries
by Joe DuPont
Hi everybody, it is time for my weekly spring Chinook Salmon update (7/12/2022).
Run Update
The harvest share table below has not changed since last week. For the Clearwater River fishery, the harvest share is 5,735 adult fish (shown in darker pink row), 3,630 for the Rapid River run fishery (blue row), zero for Hells Canyon (green row) and 145 for the Lochsa River fishery (yellow row).
FISHERIES
Clearwater River Basin Fishery
Effort continues to drop for this fishery as it seems most people are looking for other things to do (there certainly are many options). The best catch rates were observed in sections 2-4 (6-8 hrs/fish) and section 7 (12 hrs/fish). We estimated that 114 adult salmon were harvested last week bringing the season total to 4,755 fish (see table below). That means there are 980 fish to go and no additional closures will occur this week in the Clearwater River basin.
Rapid River Run Fishery
This fishery closed at the end of fishing hours on July 1, 2022.
Hells Canyon Fishery
Last week we estimated that 25 jacks were harvested below Hells Canyon Dam. Catch rates were 11 hrs/fish. This brings the season harvest total to 19 adults and 107 jacks.
Lochsa Summer Run Fishery
We observed the first summer Chinook Salmon being harvested on the Lochsa River last week. We estimated that 5 adults and 2 jacks were harvested. Catch rates were tough (51 hrs/fish) although we did talk to one angler who managed to catch his limit in under an hour. Based on travel times of PIT tagged fish, it is taking about a week for adult Chinook Salmon to travel from Lower Granite Dam to the array near the mouth of the Lochsa River. In addition, we have only trapped 15 fish at our hatchery trap near Powell. What this means is that the vast majority of Lochsa bound Chinook Salmon (we estimate 713 adult fish have passed over Lower Granite Dam) are in the Lochsa River. This means if you want to fish the Lochsa, this week will possibly be as good as it will get. In future weeks, fish will enter the trap and leave the fishery.
I’m going to be away from the office for a bit, so I will not be putting out a Chinook update next week. It does not look like there will be any closures next week as the Clearwater spring Chinook fishery is losing interest and the summer Chinook fishery is just starting. That being said, if you plan on fishing later next week (after July 20), be sure to check our website or give our office a call to see if something unexpected happened. My next Chinook update will be in two weeks.
I hope you are all enjoying your summer.