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Fisheries Managers Pondering Parameters of Spring Chinook Season by Eric Barker Lewiston Tribune, March 6, 2022

Decent return of hatchery fish should allow fishing opportunities

LEWISTON -- Idaho salmon anglers could see seven-day-a-week fishing on most rivers this spring, but may also be asked to limit effort on the North Fork of the Clearwater River to better share fishing space with the Nez Perce Tribe.

Fisheries managers are predicting what amounts to a ho-hum return of hatchery spring chinook to the Clearwater, Salmon and Snake rivers, compared to more robust runs posted in the past decade.

But it is up significantly from the poor returns of the past three years and big enough to provide decent fishing opportunities on the north-central Idaho rivers and likely the best fishing on the Clearwater since 2016.

Fisheries managers are outlining season prospects in a series of public meetings this week and collecting feedback from anglers.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will set seasons next month.

On Wednesday, Feb. 23, Idaho Department of Fish and Game Regional Fisheries Manager Joe DuPont told anglers gathered at the agency's Lewiston office that spring chinook returns are slowly trending upward after a series of poor showings.

"It is getting better. We don't think it's great, but things are trending up," DuPont said.

Rapid River return

The agency is forecasting anglers fishing on the lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers will catch about 3,600 chinook bound for the nearby Rapid River Hatchery.

Last year the harvest share there was about 1,700. Chinook surplus to spawning needs are available for harvest and managed so that half are caught by sport anglers and half by tribal anglers.

According to the department's harvest matrix that was developed with anglers, DuPont could recommend that the Idaho Fish and Game Commission approve fishing seven days a week on the lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers with a bag limit of two adult fish per day.

Sharing fish and space

On the Clearwater River and its tributaries, the harvest share is expected to be about 2,500 fish.

DuPont is asking anglers if they are in favor of seven-day-a-week fishing and a bag limit of one adult chinook suggested by the abundance-based harvest matrix.

The agency, however, is deviating from the matrix on the North Fork of the Clearwater River where the tribe has struggled to meet its harvest share in past seasons.

DuPont said that problem is more common when the run is strong enough to allow fishing seven days a week and sport anglers tend to crowd out tribal anglers.

Tribal angles have exclusive fishing access to a small section on the North Fork near Dworshak National Fish Hatchery, but DuPont said chinook tend not to occupy that space until later in the run when fish quality is not as high.

He noted tribal anglers are welcome to fish side-by-side with nontribal anglers but said they are often uncomfortable doing so.

"We need to figure out a strategy to help the tribe reach its share without affecting ours," he said.

To do that, fisheries managers are asking anglers to choose between two scenarios.

Both would allow nontribal fishing on the North Fork four days a week.

The first would close the river from its mouth to Dworshak Dam three days per week, thus giving tribal anglers more space to fish.

The second would close two 150-yard sections of the North Fork where most fishing occurs.

One would start at the river's mouth and extend upstream and the other would start at the dam and extend downstream.

"This should not prevent us from reaching our harvest share or our allocation goal," DuPont said.

The department attempts to manage the spring chinook season so nontribal harvest is geographically distributed, or allocated, up and down the river. The allocation for the North Fork is 15% of the harvest share.

The harvest share for the Snake River in Hells Canyon is expected to be tiny -- just 25 fish -- because fisheries officials did not release smolts at the dam two years ago because of a shortage.

Most of the fishing in that section that stretches from Dug Bar to Hells Canyon Dam happens at the dam.

At the end of the meeting, Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner Don Ebert asked anglers to be tolerant of the space-sharing effort on the North Fork and to remember the tribe is actively involved in managing and restoring salmon and steelhead runs in the Snake River Basin.

That activity includes co-management of Dworshak National Fish Hatchery, the reintroduction of coho salmon to the basin and the release of hatchery fall chinook upstream of Lower Granite Dam -- all three of which contribute to fishing opportunity in the region.

More information on the proposed fishing rules and online comment forms are available at bit.ly/36bOqxu.

Related Pages:
Washington Closes Part of Snake to Steelhead Fishing by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 9/3/21
Stretch of Columbia River Closing to Salmon, Steelhead Fishing by Bill Monroe, The Oregonian, 9/2/21
Idaho Allows Limited Steelhead Season by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 9/2/21
Amid Poor Runs, Idaho Officials Propose Limited Steelhead Harvest by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 8/31/21
Spring Offers Big Steelhead Fishing Opportunities in Smaller Rivers by Idaho Fish & Game, EIN Presswire, 2/18/21
Steelhead Closure Extended In Eastern Oregon by Staff, KXI, 12/26/19
Steelhead Closure Extended on Columbia River by Staff, The Astorian, 12/23/19
Limited Steelhead Season Approved by Eric Barker, Moscow-Pulmman Daily News, 12/19/19