- Upper Snake River: From the Dug Bar boat ramp upstream to Hells Canyon Dam.
- Mainstem Clearwater River: From the railroad bridge at Lewiston upstream to the Cherrylane Bridge.
- Upper Mainstem Clearwater River: From the Orofino Bridge upstream to the Kamiah Bridge.
- North Fork Clearwater River: From the mouth to Dworshak excluding the perimeter of Dworshak Hatchery.
- South Fork Clearwater River: From its mouth upstream to the confluence of American and Red rivers.
- Lower Salmon River-Hammer Creek: From the Hammer Creek boat ramp upstream to the Time Zone Bridge.
- Little Salmon River: From a posted boundary at the mouth of the Little Salmon River upstream to U. S. Highway 95 bridge near Smokey Boulder Road.
- Lochsa River: From its mouth upstream to the Twin Bridges immediately upstream from the confluence of Crooked Fork and Colt Killed creeks.
Commissioners Set Spring Chinook Season
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For the seventh year in a row, Idaho will have a spring salmon season.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission, meeting by telephone conference Friday morning set a limited spring Chinook salmon season starting Friday, May 11, on the Clearwater River, Upper Snake River in Hells Canyon, Lower Salmon River and the Little Salmon River, and opening May 26 on the Lochsa River.
Fishing will be open Friday through Monday until July 16 - closing earlier if Fish and Game sees a biological need - except on the Little Salmon where the season will be open through August 5 or until further notice, and on the Lower Salmon River, which closes June 25 or on further notice.
"The run appears to be coming in at the forecast numbers," said Sam Sharr, anadromous fishery manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The season this year includes some new boundaries meant to improve management flexibility and slow the harvest.
This year the pre-season expectation is for 27,700 adult Chinook crossing Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River in southeastern Washington, the last of the eight federal dams on the returning salmon's way up the Snake River to Idaho. That's only slightly fewer than the 2006 run of 32,664.
As of May 3 this year, 1,449 adult fish had crossed Lower Granite. The 10-year average is about 17,000 fish by that date.
The run this year is late at Bonneville and in the upper basin, but not as late as 2006. Current in-season forecast suggests run may be slightly over the preseason expectation.
Nearly 11,000 of the forecast returning Chinook are wild fish that must be left in the river, and nearly 17,000 are marked hatchery fish.
Estimates based on PIT tag returns suggest that the Rapid River Hatchery adult spring Chinook returns over Lower Granite Dam may exceed 3,300 fish and the Dworshak Hatchery adult spring Chinook return may exceed 1,800. Combined the two hatchery broodstock need is about 3,500 adult fish.
Last year, 10,706 spring Chinook were trapped at Idaho hatcheries as broodstock, and anglers caught 3,911 fish, and of those they kept 2,167.
It is still too early to estimate this year's final state share for spring Chinook fisheries, but the forecast is good enough to initiate fishing. The number of fish available to anglers this year will be based on the numbers returning beyond the needs of hatcheries, and that surplus would be split between tribal and nontribal fisheries.
Fishing will be permitted only a half hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset, local time. Chinook anglers will be allowed to keep one fish daily, have three in their possession and keep 10 for the season.
Anglers must stop fishing when they have reached daily, possession or season limits. It is unlawful to take or attempt to take salmon by snagging. They may use only barbless hooks no larger than five-eights of an inch from point to shank.
In the Lochsa, salmon may be taken only with artificial flies and lures with barbless hooks and no bait.
Only Chinook marked with a scar from a clipped adipose fin may be kept.
All anglers, except residents younger than 14, must have a valid 2007 Idaho fishing license and salmon permit. Children under 14, including nonresidents, do not need a salmon permit but must be accompanied by a valid permit holder.
Fishing boundaries are: