Hunting, Fishing Seasons Open During Holidays

There's still time to bag that Christmas game bird, or maybe a nice solstice-season steelhead. For hunters and anglers itching to get out in the field or to wet a line during the holiday season, several opportunities are available. For upland game hunters, the cottontail season is open through February 28, and snowshoe hare season through March 31. There is no season on pygmy rabbits. The pheasant season in Areas 1 and 3 is open through December 31. The forest grouse season also is open through January 31 in north Idaho's Area 1 and through December 31 in the rest of the state. Seasons for bobwhite and California quail in Area 1 are open through January 31. Chukar and gray partridge seasons are open statewide through January 31 as well. Hunters must have 2012 licenses and permits through December 31; on January 1, they will need new 2013 licenses and permits. For anglers with time off during the holidays, the fall steelhead season remains open through December 31 in the Clearwater River and the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork Clearwater rivers where bag limits are two per day and six in possession, and in the Salmon, Little Salmon, Snake and Boise rivers where limits are three per day and nine in possession. The spring steelhead season starts January 1 in these waters with limits of three per day and nine in possession. But anglers will need a new steelhead permit and a 2013 fishing license to fish after December 31. Fishing is open year round in many other waters as well. Consult rules brochures for exceptions and details, available at all license vendors, Fish and Game offices and online at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov. And remember, anyone planning to go hunting or fishing on or after New Year's Day must have a 2013 license.