the film forum library tutorial contact

Spawning Joy by Eric Barker Lewiston Tribune, October 29, 2021

Starting in 2018 the tribe stopped releasing juvenile fall chinook below Hells Canyon Dam
and instead move those releases to the lower Salmon River near White Bird.

One would think landing a massive, hook-jawed fall chinook might be the highlight of a two-day fishing trip on the lower Salmon River.

But for George Newberry, of Boise, it was something else. At times during the outing earlier this month, the river came alive with the fish that had spent two to three years feeding in the ocean and were staging to spawn.

"It was a glimpse into what the river used to be. They were rolling. They were fighting. The males were trying to push each other out of the hole," Newberry said. "I was laughing uncontrollably. My favorite part of the trip was getting to see that behavior."

But fighting the big, 40-inch male was pretty cool as well.

"I knew I had a fish," he said.

Salmon in the Salmon River

Newberry and his mom, Patsy Sunderman, were fishing with Roy Akins, who operates Rapid River Outfitters out of Riggins. The trip is an annual event for them that normally is centered on steelhead. This year, though, Akins and his clients have increasingly targeted fall chinook.

"Last year we caught about 30," he said. "This year we caught 100 or more."

The Nez Perce Tribe released hatchery fall chinook in the Clearwater and Snake rivers for several years with the idea that at least some of the fish would spawn in the rivers and boost the number of natural fish. Those fish have returned in high enough numbers to provide fisheries for tribal and nontribal anglers alike, and targeting fall chinook has become popular at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers and on the Snake River near Heller Bar and at the mouth of the Salmon river.

The fish have indeed been spawning in the Snake and Clearwater rivers. But because of the hatchery releases, fisheries officials monitoring the health of Endangered Species Act-protected chinook have had a tough time determining the degree to which fish spawning in the wild were self-sustaining.

So starting in 2018 the tribe, working with the National Marine Fisheries Service, agreed to stop releasing juvenile fall chinook below Hells Canyon Dam and instead move those releases to the lower Salmon River near White Bird. That way, they could monitor the stretch below the dam and track how many fish continue to spawn there without the annual addition of hatchery fish.

The switch has provided a boost to anglers near Riggins, one that is just catching on. In 2019, jack chinook returned to the lower Salmon River from the first releases. Last year, the first batch of adults that spent two years in the ocean made it back. And this year jacks, as well as adults that spent two and three years in the ocean, are returning.

Becky Johnson, production director of the Nez Perce Tribe's Department of Fisheries Resources Management, said about 6,000 adult fall chinook will return to the lower Salmon this year.

"Last year we saw a record number of redds produced from the return of that first release (in 2018)," Johnson said. "This year's return looks to be just as good or better."

The timing has worked out well on the lower Salmon. The past three years or so have seen poor returns of steelhead to the Snake River and its tributaries. But at least for the first part of the fall season, many anglers now have a chance to catch fall chinook. The fall chinook season on the Salmon River closes after Sunday.

The monster

Akins said his clients have been thrilled at the opportunity.

"I haven't had anybody do anything but get giddy over landing one of these big fall chinook. People are ecstatic about catching salmon in the Salmon River," he said.

Newberry and his mom had one of those unforgettable outings during the first half of their two days of fishing with Akins.

"It was nuts," Newberry said. "We had four on the first hour of our first day."

Sunderman, 82, caught nine during the two-day trip. Newberry said the second day was a little slower. The water was low, and Akins had them fishing new spots.

"We drifted over an edge, a kind of cliff, and it just slammed it," Newberry said of the 40-inch bruiser.

They were using A-run steelhead gear and had to be careful not to overtax the gear during the fight.

"A big chinook like that, what they really want to do is go to the bottom. It would fight for a while and then take a rest, fight for a while and then take a rest," Newberry said. "When it finally surfaced it was like 'Oh good lord, that is a fish. This thing is a monster.' "

Related Pages:
Middling Return Predicted for Fall Chinook by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 8/20/21
2013 Fall Chinook Redd Counts in Lower Snake River Basin Hit Highest Totals Since Surveys Began by Staff, Columbia Basin Bulletin, 2/21/14