Updates provided by regional Sr. fisheries technician, Allison Lebeda:
Idaho Fish and Game staff and volunteers are making great progress in meeting the 2021 steelhead broodstock collection goal from the South Fork Clearwater River, but help is still needed! So far, with the help of more than 230 anglers, 577 steelhead have been collected and 489 fish were sent to the hatchery (305 females and 184 males). Hatchery staff still needs anglers' help to collect the remaining fish. Anglers are spread out from Stites all the way up to Mount Idaho Grade. Most fish are being caught between Stites and Harpster, but anglers are also catching fish just upstream of Dewey Mine now.
Remember, the success of this program is dependent on the help of anglers like yourself. Fisheries managers depend on anglers to collect these fish because no weirs are operated on the South Fork to trap steelhead. These fish are collected to develop a localized steelhead broodstock for the South Fork. Fish and Game hopes to see these fish develop adaptations that will allow them to return at a higher rate to the South Fork compared to steelhead collected downstream at Dworshak Hatchery.
So, if you decide to give fishing on the South Fork of the Clearwater River a try, you can help Fish and Game and future steelhead fishing by collecting important steelhead broodstock.
Here is more information about the South Fork broodstock program. Contact the Clearwater regional office for more information (208) 799-5010.
