Frequently Asked Questions

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Great to hear you’re wanting to give sturgeon fishing a try here in the Magic Valley Region.  Although your question was short – to answer it well in an email is difficult.  We would encourage you to stop into the Regional Office in Jerome or visit a local sporting goods shop and just chat with someone about sturgeon fishing.  With that said, we’ll try to answer your questions below. Guides available:  Your choice of to use outfitters might be based on the price, the desire to learn a specific area better, the desire to learn to more about sturgeon fishing in general, or just get the “golden treatment” on the river and catch big fish.  In south Idaho, most of what you would learn from a guide about the area would require you to have and be able to pilot a jet boat to fish for sturgeon.  So, unless that is the case, you would essentially be paying to learn more about how to fish for sturgeon but not gaining insight about where you can fish from shore by yourself.  If it were me, I would look for outfitters Statewide and perhaps consider the more “scenic” guided adventure (Hells Canyon?):  You’ll pay about the same, see some real beautiful country, and learn a heck of a lot about sturgeon fishing.  There are a few outfitters that offer guided sturgeon fishing trips in South Idaho.  Most of those outfitters provide trips in the Glenns Ferry area from CJ Strike Reservoir up to Bliss Dam. This area can be fished from shore, but is more commonly fished from a jet boat.  I’d recommend you visit the Idaho Outfitters and Guides website (http://www.ioga.org)to see what options are available for outfitted sturgeon fishing tips.  Where in the Twin Falls area:  You can find sturgeon throughout the region with the exception of in the Lower Salmon Falls Reservoir impoundment (aka Bell Rapids) BUT, Most people fish for sturgeon below Pillar falls (accessed by boat from Centennial Park), the river section just below Kanaka Rapids (where the Bob Barton Rd crossed the Snake River, along River Rd between Sligars and mouth of Rock Creek, and of course Glenns Ferry area.  If you don’t know these landmarks it’s hard to understand these recommendations – it’s better to have a map in hand.  We’d recommend you stop into the Regional office and speak with the fisheries staff or stop into a local sporting goods shop to get some directions. Times:  Sturgeon fishing is a year-round experience; however, most people fish late fall through winter when flows are down.  High flows make fishing more difficult.  People do fish pretty hard from late spring through the summer, but catch rates are highest during winter/early spring. Rigging/techniques: We have a pretty good video, but we’d need to mail it to you.  I’ve cc’d a person in Boise that will send you a DVD if you provide her your mailing address.  It will show you some of the general rigging, talk about circle vs J hooks, and talk about catch rates but won’t tell you much about exactly where to throw your gear when you’re sitting along the river.  Sturgeon like to hold in deep holes or in large eddies where drifting food settles out and they don’t have to continuously fight fast currents.  Generally speaking, you fish for sturgeon on the bottom with dead fish as bait?  The gear is big, heavy and requires big line (~50lb test), barbless hooks, and a sliding sinker (see page 49 in the fishing rules).  You also want to choose your fishing site carefully considering a 6-8’ sturgeon is going to work you over pretty well, run downstream, and need some good shoreline access to actually land and release the fish. We hope this helps to at least get you started.  Again, feel free to contact the Regional Office directly (208-324-4359) if you want more information.

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The Summit will be an opportunity to have a conversation with Idahoans who care about wildlife.   Hunters, trappers, anglers and other wildlife conservationists enjoy wildlife in many ways and they are deeply interested in how it is managed.  Early last year, Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore laid out for his staff the agency's dilemma: legal mandates and public expectations have outgrown funding sources.  Now Moore wants to lay it out for the rest of Idaho. He wants to discuss how to meet those mandates and expectations without infringing on the agency's mission of stewardship of wildlife to provide opportunities for hunting, fishing and trapping.  He wants to hear ideas and look for common ground on which to develop a plan for the future.  The Wildlife Summit is scheduled on August 24-26 at the Riverside Hotel in Boise.

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Much has changed since 1938 when Idaho citizens created the Idaho Fish and Game Commission through Idaho’s first citizens’ initiative. Our state’s population has tripled; two out of three Idahoans now live in cities; and wildlife management responsibilities are much broader than 75 years ago. For instance, Fish and Game spends a lot of time and resources working in cooperation with the federal government to manage many federally designated threatened and endangered species, and keeping other species from being added to the list. In addition, increased development has impacted wildlife, and management of nongame species are also important agency responsibilities. Our challenge is to balance our wildlife conservation and management responsibilities with available revenue sources. The Summit will help us define how we address these challenges together.

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The Summit will likely include speakers, panel discussions and breakout sessions.The goal is to involve people at regional locations, and over the internet – making it possible for them to interact with those attending the event in Boise.Specific details will follow over the coming months.

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We cannot make predictions into the future, but we currently have a muzzleloader cow season in Unit 39, cow hunts that allow one to use any weapon, and 9 days of an any weapon bull season.  We use the late season archery to assist us in a depredation issue.  Our bull:cow ratio is adequate only because we have elk from Unit 43, 45, 48 wintering in Unit 39.  Even with those controlled hunts, our mature bull ratio is quite low, so any additional harvest on bulls is not recommended at this time.  Unit 39 provides us with exceptional opportunity for a general hunt and anyone that wants to hunt elk has an opportunity.  We believe that is more important at this time than capping the number of hunters and allowing an archery season for fewer hunters, especially when archery hunts are available in so many other units nearby. 

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Idaho's first game laws were established by the Idaho Territorial Legislature in 1864.  These laws for closed seasons on big game animals from Februrary to July, but did not provide for enforcement. These laws predate both the State of Idaho (admitted to the Union in 1890) and the creation of the Department of Fish and Game in 1899 which provided an enforcement mechanism.  Deputy wardens were hired in each county and were paid half of each fine for which they could get a conviction. You can view the Fish and Game History for more background on the Department, or browse IDAPA Code to review the rules governing Fish and Game and game law.

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No, you only need a hunting license if you are hunting.

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The bag limit is the total number you can take in one day. But the total may not include more than three scaup, two pintails, two redheads, two female mallards or one canvasback.

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Get as much information as possible, such as a description of the person or persons, a description and license number of any vehicles, and note the location. Then "Make the Call" to the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999 - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Or fill out a report on Fish and Game's website at: https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/feedback/getForm.cfm?getForm=3. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward if the information they provide leads to a citation. Or folks can contact a local Fish and Game conservation officer, the Idaho State Police or local law enforcement.

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No. Once the season for which your elk tag is valid has opened, your tag can no longer be exchanged. But you are allowed to buy a left-over nonresident tag for a different zone.

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Only if you're a youth hunter. The 2011 Big Game Seasons and Rules explains: Resident youth hunters ages 12 through 17 who purchase a general season elk zone tag, may participate in any A or B tag elk season within the specified zone, regardless of whether they purchased an A tag or B tag. This opportunity for resident youth hunters does not apply to controlled hunts. All other season, weapon restrictions and commission rules apply.

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That depends on where you live. If no classes are scheduled in your area, anyone 10 or older may take the independent study course on the Internet, with a required supervised field day. But in some regions field days may not be available because of the hunting season. Before taking the internet course, please check with the nearest Fish and Game regional office for field day availability. Regional office contact information is at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/about/offices/. For those wishing to go the traditional route, some courses are already full, and others are filling up quickly. For more information go the Fish and Game Website at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov./cms/education/hunter_ed/.