Idaho Fish and Game shares management responsibility for these remarkable fish and for protecting their future in Idaho. Follow the links below to learn about what is being done for wild fish in our state.
Wild Salmon and Steelhead
Many wild populations of salmon, steelhead and lamprey in the Pacific Northwest begin and end their lives in Idaho’s wild rivers found in the Clearwater, Snake and Salmon drainages.
From shimmer to structure: The anatomy of scales in Idaho's fish
One of the most fascinating features of many fish is their scales. These tiny, often overlooked structures play a big role in a fish’s survival, protection and movement through water. It's important to know there are three different types of scales that are present in Idaho’s fishes. They can have no scales on their body like Pacific lamprey, or they can have one of the following three types, being cycloid, ctenoid, or ganoid.
What a difference the stream makes for juvenile steelhead
Steelhead reared in different streams in Idaho have different life histories.
Eyes in the Sky: Using drones to monitor Chinook Salmon populations
Each year, Idaho Fish and Game licensed drone pilots take to the sky to survey Chinook salmon spawning grounds. Navigating trees, wildfire smoke, and curious birds, we collect images of the streambed along 170 miles of historic Chinook spawning habitat in the Upper Salmon River and its tributary streams.
Monitoring wild salmon and steelhead in the wilderness
If you have traveled and fished throughout Idaho’s salmon and steelhead rivers and creeks you may have encountered one of these giant spinning cones that we call a screw trap. However, most folks have likely not encountered the most remote screw trap that Fish and Game operates, which is in Fish and Game's Southwest Region, on Big Creek. Big Creek is a tributary of the Middle Fork Salmon River, which runs through the heart of central Idaho and lies almost entirely within the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48 states: the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness.
Catch, kill, report walleye in Idaho's salmon and steelhead rivers
In 2023, anglers reported catching 19 walleye in the Snake and Salmon rivers and so far in 2024, Fish and Game has received over 60 verified reports of walleye being caught. The increase is likely due to more walleye and more anglers reporting when they catch a walleye.