Southwest Salmon Season Meeting Set

More than 83,000 marked hatchery Chinook salmon are predicted to cross Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River later this spring, with most of those fish headed for Idaho. In anticipation of salmon fishing on the Main Salmon, Little Salmon and South Fork Salmon Rivers, Idaho Fish and Game is hosting a meeting to discuss potential salmon fishing seasons and some of the changes anglers can expect to see this year. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, at the Fish and Game McCall office at 555 Deinhard Lane. "It's shaping up to be a great salmon season," Fish and Game regional fisheries manager Dale Allen noted. "The run of hatchery salmon returning to Rapid River Hatchery should produce an excess of 9,000 harvestable fish in the Riggins area and the Little Salmon River. The South Fork Salmon River should also have a robust hatchery run of salmon." Meeting attendees can expect to learn more about which hatchery runs may have harvestable salmon this season, and gain a better understanding of the complexities associated with managing Idaho's salmon stocks and developing season options. "A portion of the meeting will be dedicated to discussing changes in fishing access along the Little Salmon River," Allen said. "And we'll also spend some time discussing the topic of boat fishing in the main Salmon River near the mouth of the Little Salmon River." Information gathered from this and other meetings will be used to propose spring Chinook season rules to the Fish and Game Commission in mid-April. For information contact the McCall Fish and Game office at 634-8137.