Why does the fall season provide limited access for non-boater's? Access to the mouth of the salmon river is limited to boating and the Hells canyon Dam access is limited to the probably 10 adults at the Idaho Border. Unless you have a river boat or have the $$$ for a guided trip the fall season is worthless for most of us fisherman. Oregon is profiting from my need to purchase an Oregon 3 day license to fish and I don't even bother to purchase an Idaho salmon permit for fall season. (Spring and Summer Salmon Fishing is so crazy it's not worth my time to fish). Idaho F&G should provide more options for Salmon fishing in the fall to allow fisherman with limited funds to enjoy the chance to catch a fall Salmon too.
Answer:
The distribution of fall Chinook salmon in Idaho is very different than that of spring/summer Chinook and steelhead. Fall Chinook are found only in the Snake River downstream of Hells Canyon Dam and the lower portions of the Clearwater River. A few do venture a short distance up the Salmon River but that number is really insignificant compared to the numbers in the Snake and Clearwater rivers. Yes, there is limited opportunity for non-boaters to fish for fall Chinook. Most of the fish return to the unroaded section of the Snake River and almost all of the non-boat fishing occurs just downstream of Hells Canyon Dam. Both Idaho and Oregon shore-anglers have been successful catching fall Chinook at Hells Canyon Dam. In 2013 Idaho extended the fall Chinook season into November for the section of the Snake River just downstream of Hells Canyon Dam. The primary purpose of that was to extend the fishing season for shore anglers in that area. In addition to the distribution of fall Chinook being different from spring/summer Chinook, their behavior also is different. Bank angling techniques in Idaho for fall Chinook haven't been as successful as for spring/summer Chinook because of the large rivers fall Chinook are found in and how they migrate through those rivers. Idaho Fish and Game will try to provide more options for fall Chinook fishing but there are limited opportunities to expand fishing just because of where the fish are and their behavior.
Answered on:
Monday, September 22, 2014 - 9:16 AM MDT