July 2020

The first sockeye of 2020, a naturally produced female, returned to Redfish Lake Creek trap near Stanley on July 31 and a second arrived on Aug. 2, which are among the 412 sockeye that have crossed Lower Granite Dam through Aug. 2 and signals a substantially larger return to Idaho than last year.

Since mid-July, Fish and Game staff have been conducting low-level helicopter flights across south-central Idaho in an attempt to put radio collars on antlerless elk and pronghorn. These flights ranged from the Sawtooth and Wood River Valleys and into the Little Wood River basin and the Little Camas region. 

IDFG

A helicopter lifts off with a crew of biologists working on a project to radio collar pronghorn.

Hatchery personnel from Fish and Game’s Magic Valley Region will be stocking approximately 24,725 10-12” catchable-sized rainbow trout in August. All stocking dates and numbers of fish are approximate and may change without notice due to water or weather conditions.

Fish and Game staff in the Magic Valley Region continue to work with local agricultural producers in an effort to reduce agriculture crop damages caused by big game. Requests from landowners for depredation assistance continues to come in from all areas within the Region, which stretches from Galena Summit south to the Utah and Nevada borders, and from Mountain Home east to near the tip of the American Falls reservoir. As in years past, elk continue to move onto cultivated fields at night which limits Fish and Game’s available depredation management options for changing elk behavior for the purposes of reducing crop damage.

In an area near Little Camas Reservoir, Fish and Game technicians have begun to haze elk off of agricultural crops using noise making devices. To date, no sharp shooting has occurred in this area. Fish and Game attempted to implement a managed hunting program on private lands in proximity to the areas at Little Camas where elk depredation is occurring. However, Fish and Game was unable to negotiate access to large tracts of private land, so the use of managed hunts in the Little Camas area will not occur this year.  

In mid-July, a depredation hunt was authorized in an area northeast of Fairfield, in an effort to reduce crop damage to alfalfa fields. This depredation hunt provided an opportunity for hunters to hunt antlerless elk in an effort to reduce depredation damages.

Personnel from Fish and Game's Nampa Hatchery will be releasing more than 18,000
catchable-sized rainbow trout at the following locations during August.

                                               Location           Week Stocked           Number of Trout

Boise River – Barber Park to Glenwood Bridge           August 10, 24           1,440/1,440
Boise River – Eagle Road to Middleton           August 3, 24           720/720
Boise River, Middle Fork           August 10           1,750
Boise River, North Fork           August 3, 17           1,750/1,750

Lowman (10-mile) Ponds           August 3           600
Marsing Pond           August 3           450
Payette River, Middle Fork           August 3, 17           750/750
Payette River, South Fork           August 3, 17          1,750/1,750

Silver Creek (Crouch)           August 3, 17           750/750
Wilson Springs (Nampa)           August 3, 17           250/250
Wilson Springs Ponds (Nampa)           August 3, 17           400/400

The number of trout actually released may be altered by weather, water conditions, equipment problems or schedule changes. If delays occur, trout will be stocked when conditions become favorable.

Use the Idaho Fish Planner on the Fish and Game website to review stocking history of your favorite water and when the next stocking will occur: https://idfg.idaho.gov/ifwis/fishingplanner.

- IDFG -