2014 Salmon Season Outlasts 2013

In 2013, the second day of June was the final day of the season for adult spring Chinook in much of Idaho. In 2014, things are just getting started, and good opportunity remains for Idaho anglers hoping to catch an Idaho salmon. Anglers fishing the Clearwater River have been catching spring Chinook for about a month now. The Clearwater was high and muddy in the final week of May, slowing the catch rate. High water also made conditions difficult for anglers on the Salmon River. Both of those rivers are showing signs of dropping as we move into June, but with abundant snow at high elevations, runoff will continue to be sporadic. The Little Salmon River cleared up and dropped to near normal levels by the first day of June, but the water temperature remained in the forties, resulting in low catch rates. A few fish have been trickling into the Rapid River Hatchery, and managers expect those numbers to start rising as the water temperature increases.