By Mike Demick, Conservation Information Supervisor
Monday, October 24, 2016 – 2:19 PM MDT
Idaho anglers who have yet to land a salmon this season still have a little time left.
The fall Chinook season will end October 31 in the Clearwater River, a short stretch of the lower Salmon River and in the Snake River, except the section from Cliff Mountain Rapids upstream to Hells Canyon Dam, which closes November 17.
The season opened September 1, on the Snake River between Lewiston and Hells Canyon Dam, in the lower Clearwater River downstream of the U.S. Highway 12 Memorial Bridge in Lewiston, and in the Salmon River from its mouth upstream to Eye of the Needle Rapids.
The daily bag limit is six adult Chinook salmon, the possession limit is 18 adult Chinook and there is no season limit on adult Chinook. Only adipose-fin-clipped salmon may be kept.
Only adult Chinook must be recorded on the angler’s salmon permit. There are no limits on jacks, but anglers must have a valid Idaho fishing license and salmon permit to fish for salmon.
As of October 16, anglers had caught and kept 87 marked adults and 60 jack fall Chinook and caught and released 231 unmarked adults in the lower Clearwater River. They caught and kept 329 adults and 125 jacks, and caught and released 1,243 unmarked adults in the Snake River. Hatchery-origin fish are marked with a clipped adipose fin.
So far this year, over 33,980 adult fall Chinook and more than 11,620 jacks have crossed Lower Granite Dam, many of them returned to the Snake and Clearwater rivers above Lewiston.
For more information on Chinook salmon fishing including harvest reports, dam counts, and other rules, visit the Fish and Game website at idfg.idaho.gov/fish/chinook.
