New Fishing Rules Books Now Available

The new Idaho fishing rule book for 2008 and 2009 is back from the printers. The book will be available at most Idaho Fish and Game offices and license vendors. New rules this year include changes in bass limits, fish net and trap sizes and use of live bait. The size limit on smallmouth and largemouth bass has been lifted from the Salmon River drainage and north, and downstream of the Hells Canyon Dam in the Snake River. The limit is still six fish in the aggregate, and elsewhere in the state the general rule is only fish 12 inches or longer may be taken. It is legal to take unprotected nongame fish, crayfish, and yellow perch, for use as bait, with a minnow or seine net up to 10 feet on a side, or in a minnow or crayfish trap up to two feet on a side, or up to eight cubic feet in volume. Anglers can't use live fish, leeches, frogs, salamanders, waterdogs - also known as mud puppies - or shrimp as bait. Crayfish may still be used as live bait, but only if they are used in the same water where they were caught. Consult the regional exceptions in the rule book for local changes.