Steelhead Season Opens on the Salmon, Snake Rivers

Steelhead harvest fishing season opens Monday, September 1, on the Salmon, the Little Salmon and the lower Snake River. The season opens on the Salmon River from its mouth upstream to the posted boundary 100 yards downstream from the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery weir, near Stanley; on the Little Salmon River from its mouth upstream to the U.S. Highway 95 bridge near Smokey Boulder Road; and on the Snake River from the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers upstream to Hells Canyon Dam. The steelhead harvest season opened August 1 on the Clearwater River from its mouth to the Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 12 near Lewiston. In addition, the catch-and-release steelhead season still is open above Memorial Bridge on the mainstem and Middle Fork upstream to Clear Creek; on the North Fork Clearwater River, from its mouth upstream to Dworshak Dam; and on the South Fork Clearwater River, from its mouth upstream to the confluence of American and Red Rivers. The harvest season on these waters opens October 15. The steelhead limit on the Clearwater is two fish per day, six in possession and 20 for the season. Elsewhere, the limit is three per day, nine in possession and 20 for the season. Once limits are reached, the angler must stop fishing, even-catch-and release. Anglers must have a valid Idaho fishing license and steelhead permit. Steelhead anglers may use only barbless hooks, and may keep only hatchery steelhead marked with a clipped adipose fin, evidenced by a healed scar. All other steelhead must be released unharmed immediately. In the boundary waters on the Snake River between Idaho and Oregon or Washington, an angler with a valid 2008 Idaho fishing license and steelhead permit may fish where the river forms the boundary between Idaho and Oregon or Washington, but may not fish from the shoreline, including wading, and may not fish in sloughs or tributaries on the Oregon or Washington side. An angler may have only the limit allowed by one license regardless of the number of licenses the angler holds. Consult 2008-2009 fishing rules brochure for exceptions and special restrictions. For more information on steelhead fishing in Idaho, check the Fish and Game Website http://fishandgame.idaho.gov.