Chinook Fishery to Close on Salmon, Little Salmon

The Chinook salmon season on the lower Salmon River and the Little Salmon will close soon. Effective at the end of fishing hours on Tuesday, June 23, the Little Salmon River and the Salmon River from the posted boundary about 200 yards downstream of the Hammer Creek boat ramp upstream to the mouth of Shorts Creek will be closed to all Chinook salmon fishing. Weekly angler surveys by Idaho Fish and Game fishery managers indicate that by June 23, all of the state's harvest share of hatchery Chinook salmon returning to Rapid River Fish Hatchery will have been harvested. In addition, at the end of fishing hours Sunday, June 28, the Salmon River from the mouth of Short's Creek upstream to the uppermost boat ramp at Vinegar Creek will be closed to all Chinook fishing. Hatchery fish in the lower Salmon River from Shorts Creek to Vinegar Creek are destined for the South Fork Salmon River and to the Sawtooth and Pahsimeroi hatcheries on the upper Salmon River. Estimates of hatchery returns to the South Fork Salmon River and the upper Salmon River are lower than forecast. Closing the lower Salmon River fishery from Shorts Creek to Vinegar Creek on June 28 will help provide more fishing opportunities in upriver communities.