South Fork Salmon Season Set

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission in a telephone conference call on the morning of the first day of summer, June 22, adopted a summer Chinook salmon season on the South Fork of the Salmon River, starting June 29. The commissioners also agreed to close the spring Chinook season on the Lower Salmon River two days early at the end of fishing on Saturday June 24 to leave a few more fish for anglers in the Little Salmon River. The recommendation to open the South Fork to salmon fishing is based on a forecast that 2,500 to 3,100 summer Chinook raised at the McCall Hatchery will return to Idaho. Idaho Department of Fish and Game fish managers estimate that 40 to 75 percent of the run has passed Bonneville Dam. Season adjustment will be made depending on how far along that range the run is, anadromous fish manager Sharon Kiefer told commissioners. If the run is closer to the 75 percent crossing Bonneville, the season may not materialize. But she thinks it still is closer to 50 percent along. The McCall hatchery broodstock goal is 1,300 fish. That leaves an estimated 1,200 to 1,800 fish to be split among state and tribal fisheries. "Those numbers will still provide us with a limited fishing opportunity," Kiefer said. The South Fork Salmon River will be open every day, until further notice, from the mouth of Goat Creek upstream to about 100 yards below the South Fork salmon weir and trap. The bag limit is one fish per day, three in possession and 10 for the season statewide for all salmon fisheries. As for the spring run of Chinook, it's all but over except for the Little Salmon River, Kiefer told commissioners. Salmon fishing in the Clearwater and Snake rivers already has closed, and it closes on the Lower Salmon at the end of the day Saturday, June 24. As of June 20, 23,912 salmon had crossed Lower Granite Dam, the last obstacle before they reach Idaho. The 10-year average for this date is 51,625 and last year's number was 27,194 Chinook. The number of Rapid River hatchery fish returning up the Lower Salmon and the Little Salmon is estimated at 4,100 to 4,200 fish. The state's share of those is about 1,000 fish. Already anglers have taken 639 adult salmon, most of them in the Lower Salmon fish. And of the 475 adult fish harvested in the Lower Salmon so far, 352 were taken over the fishing days of June 16 and 19, and a total of 164 have been taken in the Little Salmon River. The fishery management goal for the Rapid River fish was for 65 percent of them to be taken in the Little Salmon River to maintain the tributary season as long as possible. But Kiefer expects that another four-day fishing cycle on the mainstem Salmon River, if it's as big as the last cycle, may exceed the state's share, leaving none for the Little Salmon River fishery. So she and other Fish and Game officials recommended closing the mainstem Salmon River season while there are still a few fish "on the table" for continuing the Little Salmon River fishery. The change adopted by the Commission allows fishing to continue a little longer on the Little Salmon River. High flows have made it hard to get to the fish, and the fishing there has barely started to get good, Kiefer said. "But the flows are dropping rapidly, coming down to normal levels," she said. The season on the Little Salmon River closes July 31 or upon further notice. Fishing days are Friday through Monday. Salmon anglers are reminded that fishing hours are a half hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset, local time. The limit is one fish daily, three in possession and 10 for the season. Anglers may use only barbless hooks no larger than five-eights of an inch from point to shank, and they must stop fishing when they have reached daily, possession or season limits. Only hatchery raised salmon marked with a clipped adipose fin may be kept. Wild Chinook are federally protected as a threatened species and must be released unharmed. For additional details see the 2006 Spring Chinook Salmon Season and Rules pamphlet, available at license vendors and Fish and Game offices.