Angler Ideas Sought by Fish and Game

Fishing rules for 2006 and 2007 are in the early stages of development and anglers are encouraged to share their ideas with Fish and Game at one of two upcoming open houses. Fish and Game's Nampa office, located at 3101 S. Powerline Drive, will host an open house on Wednesday, May 4, while the Fish and Game McCall office, located at 555 Deinhard Drive will host a second open house on Wednesday, May 4. Attend either open house anytime between 9:00am and 8:00pm. Anglers unable to attend one of the open houses can submit their suggestions in written form or by phone. Send written comments to: Fish and Game, Attention: Jeff Dillon, 3101 S. Powerline Road, Nampa, ID 83686 or; Fish and Game, Attention: Dale Allen, 555 Deinhard Drive, McCall, ID 83638. Anglers may contact fisheries manager Jeff Dillon directly at 465-8465. Fisheries manager Dale Allen can be reached at 634-8137. The open houses are the first step in developing the new rules. "We want to invite every interested angler to attend one of our get-togethers and share their ideas with us," Jeff Dillon noted. "We'll summarize this input and make it available to the public again this summer." Fish and Game is proposing three rule changes with statewide application. The first would allow anglers with a second pole validation to have up to 10 lines in the water while ice fishing. Secondly, Fish and Game is proposing removing the limits on walleye and northern pike except where the department actively manages these species. "The motivation behind this change is the increased level of illegal transplants of these two species in recent years," Dale Allen said. The final statewide proposal would involve a change in fishing tournament rules. Current rules do not allow for tournament harvest of wild trout from streams. A rule change would provide the flexibility to harvest wild trout if a compelling reason for doing so was identified. For instance, Fish and Game could allow tournament harvest of rainbow trout in cutthroat waters such as the South Fork of the Snake River. The rule change would also allow for the tournament harvest of brook trout. Proposals specific to Idaho's southwest region include the following: - allowing year-round fishing on the Owyhee River (Idaho portion). - designating three Treasure Valley ponds (Merrill Park Pond, Settler's Pond and Payette Pond) as Family Fishing Waters. - eliminating the catch and release designation for kokanee in the North Fork of the Payette River below Payette Lake. - designating Chamberlain Creek and its tributaries as catch and release fishing only (currently under a two-fish limit). This change would still allow for the harvest of brook trout. - removing the winter stream fishing season designation on Big Creek, a tributary to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Ideas generated during this comment period will be used to formulate proposed changes to the 2006/2007 fishing rules. Additional open houses will be held later this summer to gauge popular support for any proposed changes. Final proposed changes will be presented to the Fish and Game Commission in the fall for review and action. For more information regarding the fishing rule change process, contact Fish and Game's Southwest Region office in Nampa at 465-8465 or McCall at 634-8137.