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Idaho Fish and Game

Salmon Fishing on Upper, South Fork Salmon Rivers

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This year, Idaho's Free Fishing Day and the opening of Chinook salmon fishing on part of the upper Salmon and the South Fork Salmon rivers both come on the same day - June 12. No fishing license or salmon permit is required to fish, including Chinook salmon, on Free Fishing Day. To go fishing on any other day, anglers will need to buy a fishing license; a salmon permit is also required to fish for Chinook. All other fishing regulations still apply. Be sure to check the regulations for the area you intend to fish. The Chinook season on the Upper Salmon in the river section referred to as the Ellis Area will be open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. MST starting June 12 until further notice. The Ellis area is from the cable car crossing at the USGS flow gauging station about 150 yards downstream of Island Park in Salmon, upstream to the posted boundary about 20 yards above the mouth of the Pahsimeroi River in Ellis. The daily limit is five Chinook salmon, only three of which may be adults, and the possession limit is 15 Chinook, only nine of which may be adults. Adult Chinook salmon are 24 inches or more long, jacks are less than 24 inches in length. The upper Salmon near Stanley will open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 3 and close July 5. It will be open from the posted boundary about 20 yards upstream of Valley Creek in Stanley, upstream to the posted boundary 100 yards downstream of the weir at Sawtooth Hatchery. The limit is three Chinook salmon, only one of which may be an adult, and the possession limit is nine Chinook, only three of which may be adults. The South Fork Salmon River will be open from June 12 until further notice from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The lower South Fork Salmon River will be open from the U.S. Forest Service bridge on Forest Service Road 48 - East Fork South Fork Road-Lick Creek Road - that crosses just upstream from the confluence with the East Fork South Fork Salmon River - upstream about 16 miles to a posted boundary about one mile upstream from Fourmile Campground (about two miles downstream from Poverty Flat Campground). The upper South Fork Salmon River will be open from a posted boundary about one mile from Fourmile Campground, upstream about 17 miles to a posted boundary about 100 yards downstream from the Idaho Fish and Game South Fork Salmon River weir and trap. Limits are five Chinook per day, only three of which may be adults; the possession limit is 15 in possession, only nine of which may be adults. The statewide limit for adult Chinook has been raised to 40 for the year.