Steelhead Season Opens on the Salmon, Snake Rivers

Steelhead harvest fishing season opens Wednesday, September 1, on the Salmon, the Little Salmon and the lower Snake rivers. The steelhead harvest season already is open on the Clearwater River from its mouth to the Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 12 near Lewiston. The rest of the Clearwater drainage upstream of Memorial Bridge is open to catch-and-release only for steelhead. The harvest season opens October 15 on the Clearwater upstream of the Memorial Bridge. The steelhead limit on the Snake, Salmon and Little Salmon is three per day and nine in possession. The limit on the Clearwater is two fish per day and six in possession. Anglers may keep 20 steelhead 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. They must stop fishing when the possession limit is reached - even catch-and-release. Steelhead anglers may use only barbless hooks, and may keep only hatchery steelhead marked with a clipped adipose fin. 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 2010 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. For more information on steelhead fishing in Idaho, check the Fish and Game Website http://fishandgame.idaho.gov.