Limited steelhead season approved

Idaho anglers will usher in the new year with a restored opportunity to fish for steelhead on the Clearwater and lower Snake rivers.

On Wednesday, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved the reopening of limited steelhead fishing on the Clearwater River and its South and Middle forks, as well as the Snake River below Couse Creek. Under the rules of the fishery that opens Jan. 1, anglers will be required to release all hatchery steelhead longer than 28 inches and will have a bag limit of just one fish per day. The commission did not reopen fishing on the North Fork of the Clearwater River.

The state closed steelhead fishing on the rivers in October when it and other fisheries managers feared too few steelhead would return to Dworshak National Fish Hatchery to meet spawning goals. Since then, fisheries managers from Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, Washington and Oregon have taken several steps in an effort to get enough fish back to the hatchery to meet spawning goals, known as brood stocks. The tribe also closed steelhead fishing on the Clearwater and lower Snake rivers. Washington closed the Snake River to steelheading downstream of Couse Creek and, along with Oregon, implemented rolling closures on the Columbia River designed to protect B-run steelhead bound for Idaho.

The tribe led efforts to intercept Dworshak Hatchery-bound steelhead at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River. Those fish were then trucked to the hatchery. The tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also operated a trap at Dworshak hatchery for an extended period of time this fall.

As of Wednesday, there were 864 adult B-run steelhead at the hatchery. Hatchery managers need about 1,300 to meeting spawning goals. Fisheries managers believe they can reach that number by continuing to trap fish at both Lower Granite Dam and the hatchery, and by using anglers to catch and hold steelhead in the South Fork of the Clearwater River.

The tribe is considering reopening steelhead fishing for its members on the Clearwater and North Fork of the Clearwater rivers. Washington hasn’t decided yet if it will reopen the Snake River downstream of Couse Creek.

Eric Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.