Drought Will Affect Fishing

Drought will harm many of Idaho's fisheries this year and affect anglers over most of the state. This year's drought conditions are among the worst Idahoans have experienced in many years. Many watersheds received less than 60 percent of normal snowpack, and a number of fishing waters will be negatively impacted. To help cope with these conditions, the department will be modifying some fishery management programs. Fish slated for stocking into waters that will likely go dry will be diverted to other waters where they will provide additional fishing opportunities. Salvage fisheries will be opened on some streams and reservoirs to allow anglers to harvest more fish before they perish from lack of water. Because of the time, expense, and labor involved, and because they are almost never cost effective, salvage operations conducted by department employees will be avoided. Other impacts will include inaccessible boat ramps as water levels recede in some waters. Once the summer heat arrives, catch-and-release anglers should take extra care to land their fish quickly to reduce stress on the fish. Here is a regional roundup, compiled from regional staff, of how it appears drought will affect fishing this summer: Panhandle Region - Warmer weather and spring rains have increased flows in local rivers and helped to fill lowland lakes. Spirit Lake, however, was low and continued to drop. The public boat ramps are now only accessible to small boats and by mid June, anglers may not be able to launch any boats. Hayden Lake was also about three feet below summer pool level and most likely will not spill this year. By late summer, access at Sportsmen Park in the north end of Hayden Lake may be restricted. Coeur d'Alene Lake has filled rapidly during the last week and will likely go slightly above summer pool level this week in order to provide a little extra water for the Spokane River below Post Falls Dam in June. Rivers should be relatively low and clear for the Memorial Day opening of the fishing season. If hot, dry conditions persist, the best late summer cutthroat trout fishing will be in the upper reaches of the St. Joe and Coeur d'Alene rivers, while the Spokane River fishery downstream from Post Falls will suffer. Some Panhandle lakes will likely be the beneficiaries of hatchery fish reallocated from drought-stricken waters further south. Clearwater Region - Streams are expected to be fishable early in the general season. Dworshak Reservoir is not likely to fill. Southwest Region - Waters in the McCall area are expected to weather the drought without significant losses of fishing opportunity. Streams should generally be fishable early in the season. Further south, Mountain Home and Indian Creek reservoirs will go dry, and Paddock Reservoir may also be in trouble by late summer. About 100,000 fingerling trout, initially scheduled for stocking in other reservoirs, will be reallocated to C.J. Strike this year. These are expected to grow well and provide a boost to the fishery later this year. Magic Valley Region - Storage reservoirs in the Magic Valley Region will be among the hardest hit in the state. Fish Creek, Magic, Thorn Creek, and Little Camas reservoirs, and Lava Lake will be drained by mid-summer, and salvage seasons (removal of bag, possession, and size limits) have been ordered. Salvage regulations have already been authorized for the Big Wood River downstream from Magic Reservoir. Mormon Reservoir is also expected to see low pool conditions, which may result in a salvage fishery. Oakley and Roseworth reservoirs may also have drawdown problems later this summer. Streams should be fishable by opening day, but some streams may be impacted by high temperatures, including lower Silver Creek and the Little Wood River. Southeast Region - Fishing should be good in May on reservoirs and June on rivers, streams and reservoirs but may deteriorate rapidly in July and certainly by August when water will likely be low and warm. Rivers and streams will be low and clear early. Storage reservoirs will be drained but some will retain fish. When reservoirs get low anglers will notice numerous competitors for fish, namely fish-eating birds.They will be taking advantage of the shallow water that will concentrate the fish, making them easy prey. Chesterfield Reservoir has not filled completely. If irrigators are able to hold off on irrigation until near Memorial Day, then there would probably be enough water left at the end of the year for fish. If they have to begin irrigating early in May, then it will probably be drained. Hawkins Reservoir will be drained by the end of August, not only because of the drought, but because repairs need to be done to the outlet structure. Wiregrass will be drained sometime in mid summer. Both these reservoirs should go onto salvage by mid-June. 24-Mile Reservoir (44 acres) has never been drained in recent memory and the new watermaster for the area has an interest in conserving that resource, so it is unlikely to go dry. Springfield Reservoir (66 acres) should not be affected by the drought. This is a natural lake that is spring fed. The elevation was increased with a dam so that irrigation water could be diverted when the reservoir is full. Thus, irrigation does not lower the volume of Springfield Reservoir. The Twin Lakes Canal Company has three reservoirs, Condie, Twin Lakes and Winder. Condie is as low as it can be drained now. It did not refill over the winter because of problems with dam safety. Work will be done on the dam this spring and if enough water is available to partially refill, then the effectiveness of the repairs will be tested this summer. If all goes well, Condie will be refilled next winter and will then get back to normal. Winder Reservoir will be drained by late summer. Twin Lakes will be drawn down considerably, but it cannot be drained. There will be adequate water remaining to support the fishery. The Preston-Whitney Canal Company manages four reservoirs, Foster, Glendale, Johnson and Lamont. Johnson will be drained for outlet repairs by late summer. The other three will be drawn down to low level but are not expected to threaten fish populations. Treasureton Reservoir is full and the irrigation company would like to keep it from being drained. Recent rains may help them achieve that goal. However, it is still a reasonable probability that Treasureton Reservoir may be drained so low by late summer that fish might not survive. Devil Creek and Daniels have legal minimum pools that provide adequate protection for the fish populations. However the Malad Valley Irrigation Company owns Devil Creek, Crowther and St. Johns reservoirs. In the past this company has made an arrangement with Fish and Game to lower Devil Creek Reservoir below the minimum in order to keep enough water in their other two reservoirs for the fish. If needed, a similar arrangement may occur this summer. Deep Creek Reservoir will be low, but there is no prediction so far to drain it. Weston Reservoir has been drained to a minimum several times in recent years, but there has always been enough water left for fish. The same is expected this year. Little Valley Reservoir near Paris, was drained last fall so that the irrigation company could do repairs. It is unlikely that it refilled this winter. No fish stocking is planned there this spring. Montpelier Reservoir has a functional minimum pool of 120 acre-feet because it has an elevated outlet that ceases to function when volume gets to this point. Thus this reservoir will be low but will not be drained. American Falls Reservoir is full now, but inflow is low and drawdown will begin early. Thus, it is likely that American Falls Reservoir will be functionally drained this year. Volume will be reduced to less than two percent of full. The upper Portneuf River from Chesterfield Reservoir to below Lava Hot Springs is a conduit for water delivery from Chesterfield Reservoir to Marsh Valley cropland. This reach has an abundance of water during the irrigation season. Downstream from the main diversion between Lava and McCammon, river flow will be very low this summer. Snake River flows above American Falls Reservoir may not exceed irrigation demand at times. The reach between Shelley and Blackfoot may cease to flow at times this summer. The Snake River below American Falls Reservoir down to Lake Walcott will have an abundance of flow throughout the irrigation season at least until American Falls Reservoir is drained to its lowest point. Flow below American Falls Dam will be about 10,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) on the Memorial Day weekend opener and that is the same as it was for last year's opener. These flows contrast to about 18,000-20,000 cfs flow on the Memorial Day weekend opener in 1999 and 1998. The Snake River will likely be reduced to near 350 cfs and stay that way through the winter as it did this last winter. Bear River runoff will be low. Once irrigation demand exceeds natural flow, water will be pumped into the Bear River near Bern from Bear Lake. This will maintain adequate river flow throughout the irrigation season. Power peaking is standard procedure below PacifiCorp dams and could be more exaggerated this year due to the increased value of power. Some streams in the Bear River drainage will likely be irrigated dry. Fish Haven and St. Charles creeks may be included in this list. Upper Snake Region - As with other parts of the state, the general stream season opener is expected to provide good fishing as streams should be relatively low and clear. By late summer, some stream reaches will be impacted if hot, dry conditions continue. Lower reaches of the Henrys Fork, South Fork Snake, and other rivers will suffer from water withdrawals, but primary fishing reaches further upstream should remain good all summer. Willow Creek drainage streams, which have been recovering from the prolonged drought of the late 1980s, will likely suffer a setback. Island Park Reservoir and Henrys Lake will likely see significant drawdowns, but are expected to continue to provide good fishing. Ririe and Palisades reservoirs will also be drawn down. Salmon Region - Fishing conditions should be good early, but as flows decrease, irrigation demands will result in numerous tributary streams being de-watered before they reach mainstem river reaches. This will result in increased temperatures in the mainstem Salmon River. A significant portion of the Pahsimeroi River will have severe flow problems. Trout populations are expected to fare poorly unless cooler, wetter weather provides relief. This information will be periodically updated as conditions change, and as new salvage seasons are authorized. Regularly updated information on fisheries is available on the Fish and Game web site at www2.state.id.us/fishgame in the news and fishing sections. This information will be maintained on the site until water conditions return to normal.