Anglers Encouraged to Review New Rules for New Year

By Ed Schriever - Idaho Department of Fish and Game Before casting a line in the New Year, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game encourages anglers to review a copy of the new 2006-2007 Fishing Rules Booklet available on-line at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/fish/rules. Many of the rule changes provide additional fishing opportunity, while some restrict harvest to protect wild fish populations. The Family Fishing Water Rule is designed to provide fishing opportunity with the simplest rules. Anglers fishing in the Clearwater Region should be aware of the following changes: General Fishing The daily limit of trout has been reduced from six to two in all tributaries to the Salmon River from its mouth upstream to Horse Creek where limits had not previously been reduced - except Crooked Creek upstream of Big Creek, Little Salmon River and South Fork Salmon River. The opening date for fishing in the tributaries of the Lochsa and Selway rivers has been changed from to July 1 to the Saturday of Memorial day Weekend, to coincide with the general stream season opening day. All these tributary streams continue to be managed with a reduced daily bag limit of two fish, with no fish length or fishing gear restriction. The reduced bag limit, slot length limit and season restrictions on bass in Elk Creek Reservoir have been replaced with the statewide general rule - daily limit of six bass in the aggregate (large and smallmouth), 12-inch minimum size, open all year. The Clearwater Region returned to the statewide minimum length limit of 12-inches for bass in all waters unless otherwise noted. We are maintaining some specific exceptions to the 12-inch rule and have stated that any size bass may be kept in the Snake River below Hells Canyon Dam, the Salmon and Clearwater rivers and Dworshak Reservoir. The daily limit remains six bass. The Family Fishing Water rule was adopted on Winchester Lake and Moose Creek Reservoir. This rule means there is no longer a size restriction on bass in these waters. Deer Creek Reservoir, a trout-only fishery, was also designated as Family Fishing Water. Family Fishing Waters have simplified rules and provide ideal settings for a great fishing trip for families, kids and first-time anglers. A map showing the location of all Family Fishing Waters is found on page 16 of the new rules booklet. Steelhead Fishing The spring steelhead fishing season has been extended by one month on the lower Salmon River, from its mouth upstream to the Lake Creek Bridge, which is six miles upstream of the mouth of the Little Salmon River at Riggins. By virtue of this change, this section of river is now covered by the statewide spring season dates of January 1- April 30. The shortened spring season exception (January 1 - March 31) still applies to the Salmon River upstream of the Lake Creek Bridge to Long Tom Creek which is a quarter mile upstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River. The steelhead bag limits for the fall season on the Clearwater River have been reduced to 2 per day, 6 in possession. The fall season limit remains 20 fish. These new bag limits take effect on August 1, 2006 in the Clearwater River downstream of the Memorial Bridge in Lewiston and on October 15, 2006 in those portions of the Clearwater River drainage open to steelhead fishing upstream of the Memorial Bridge. Spring season limits (January 1 - April 30) remain 3 per day, 9 in possession and 20 for the season. Department biologists are continually challenged when preparing fish rule proposals. On one hand, we hear complaints related to the complexity of the rules. "You have to be a New York lawyer to understand those rules," is a common public response. In contrast, a "one size fits all" simplified rule package simply does not allow the Department to manage for a diversity of angling opportunity and public expectations or respond to different biological capacities in fish populations. The key to understanding the fishing rules is to start on page two of the brochure - "How to Use This Brochure." This directs you to the statewide general seasons and bag limits on pages eight and nine. These are the rules that apply to all the waters in the entire state unless there is an exception for specific waters. Only rivers, streams, reservoirs, ponds and lakes that are exceptions to the statewide general fishing rules are listed by Fish and Game region further back in the brochure. For example, the exceptions for waters in the Clearwater Region are found from page 28 to page 33. If the water is not listed in the exceptions, then the general rules apply. Ed Schriever is regional fisheries manager for the Clearwater Region. He has worked for the IDFG since 1984.