Happy Friday Everyone!
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission met this morning via conference call to set seasons for Chinook Salmon fisheries on the Upper Salmon River, the Lochsa River, and the South Fork Salmon River. They also increased the season limit from 10 adults to 20 adults, based on an increase in the number of adult Chinook Salmon that have come back to Idaho, relative to preseason forecasts. Read on for more information about each of these Commission actions.
Upper Salmon River Fishery:
The Upper Salmon River fishery will open on Thursday, June 19th, 7 days per week. The daily limit is four (4) Chinook Salmon, only two (2) of which may be adults.
Lochsa River Fishery:
The Lochsa River fishery will open on Saturday, June 14th, 7 days per week. The daily limit is four (4) Chinook Salmon, only two (2) of which may be adults.
For more information about the Upper Salmon and Lochsa fisheries, click this LINK
South Fork Salmon River Fishery:
The South Fork Salmon River fishery will open on Thursday, June 19th, 7 days per week. The daily limit is four (4) chinook salmon – only one (1) of which may be an adult.
Harvest Share:
Although South Fork fish are not done migrating over Bonneville Dam, the harvest share estimate thus far is 800 adults. However, this still may change depending on how well fish convert through the hydrosystem. We will continue to track the number of tagged fish coming over Lower Granite Dam to fine-tune our harvest share estimate in-season. I will provide weekly updates from here on out to let you all know what our harvest share target is on the South Fork fishery as the season progresses.
Season Structure:
During season-scoping meetings in February, we were predicting a harvest share of around 530 adults on the South Fork Salmon for 2025. Based on the harvest matrix that you all helped us construct (Figure 1), we anticipated having a 4 day per week fishery with a 1 adult per day limit. We asked anglers at the February meetings if they felt this was an appropriate strategy, and 58% of the respondents said yes. However, those anglers also said that if the run came in significantly different than forecasted, they would support adjusting the season structure as appropriate, based on the harvest matrix below. Currently, the run is predicted to come in higher than forecasted, so based on that harvest matrix, we proposed to the Commission a 7 days per week fishery with a 1 adult per day limit. As the run over Lower Granite continues, if the harvest share estimate is reduced to significantly fewer than 750 adults, we may consider reducing fishing days to 4 days per week. Make sure to keep an eye on our website and stop in at the fishery check-station for announcements in-season.