Fall Chinook Harvest Season Opens

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission Wednesday, October 1, approved a fall Chinook harvest season on the Snake River - the first such season in decades. The season opens Friday, October 3, on the Snake River from Lewiston upstream to Hells Canyon Dam. The season will remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week until October 31 or until further notice. Anglers may keep one fall Chinook per day, including jacks, and have three in possession. They may keep only fish with a clipped adipose fin, evidenced by a healed scar, and they may keep 40 salmon for the year, including spring, summer and fall Chinook. The fall Chinook run in the Snake River was protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 1992. Fishery managers expect up to 6,500 fall Chinook hatchery-origin salmon to return to the Snake River above Lewiston this fall. They anticipate that about 21,000 fall Chinook will cross Lower Granite Dam. Many of the hatchery fish available for harvest in the Snake River were released as part of an effort to mitigate effects of construction of Snake River Dams. Fishery managers will monitor the fishery to ensure that effects on natural-origin fall Chinook will be within acceptable limits. The Snake River is open to fall Chinook in three sections:

• From the Southway Bridge in Lewiston upstream to the mouth of the Salmon River.
• From the mouth of the Salmon River upstream to Granite Creek.
• From Granite Creek upstream to Hells Canyon Dam.

One or more of the three areas could close earlier than October 31. Anglers may use only barbless hooks no larger than five-eighths inch from the point to the shank. When the daily, possession or season limit is reached, the angler must stop fishing for salmon, including catch and-release. It is unlawful to take or fish for salmon by snagging. Salmon caught in a legal manner must be either released or killed immediately after landing. Anglers must have a valid Idaho fishing license and salmon permit in possession to fish for salmon. A salmon permit for the spring or summer season still is valid; for anglers who didn't keep theirs, replacement permits are available for $7.25. A permit costs $12.75. Please consult the 2008-2009 Fishing Seasons and Rules brochure for additional rules, license costs and other information.