The steelhead harvest season already is open on the Clearwater River from its mouth to the Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 12 near Lewiston. The rest of the Clearwater drainage upstream of Memorial Bridge is open to catch-and-release only for steelhead.

The harvest season opens October 15 on the Clearwater upstream of the Memorial Bridge.

The steelhead limit on the Snake, Salmon and Little Salmon is three per day and nine in possession. The limit on the Clearwater is two fish per day and six in possession. Anglers may keep 20 steelhead for the season. Once limits are reached, the angler must stop fishing, even catch-and-release.

Anglers must have a valid Idaho fishing license and steelhead permit. They must stop fishing when the possession limit is reached – even catch-and-release. Steelhead anglers may use only barbless hooks, and may keep only hatchery steelhead marked with a clipped adipose fin. All other steelhead must be released unharmed immediately.

In the boundary waters on the Snake River between Idaho and Oregon or Washington, an angler with a valid 2010 Idaho fishing license and steelhead permit may fish where the river forms the boundary between Idaho and Oregon or Washington, but may not fish from the shoreline, including wading, and may not fish in sloughs or tributaries on the Oregon or Washington side. An angler may have only the limit allowed by one license regardless of the number of licenses the angler holds.

Fall Chinook Harvest Season Opens Soon

The fall harvest season for Chinook salmon opens Wednesday, September 1, in the Snake River between Lewiston and Hells Canyon Dam and, this year, in the lower Clearwater River downstream of the Memorial Bridge near Lewiston.

The fall Chinook season will run 24-hours a day, seven days a week until further notice or until October 31, whichever occurs first.

The daily limit would be two fall Chinook, only one of which may be an adult; the possession limit is six, of which three may be adults. Jacks, fish less than 24 inches in total length, are part of the daily and possession limits but anglers are not required to record them on their permits.

Anglers may keep 40 adult Chinook salmon for the calendar year, including spring, summer and fall seasons. They may keep only fish with a clipped adipose fin, evidenced by a healed scar. All salmon with an intact adipose fin must be released.

Salmon anglers may use only barbless hooks no larger than five-eighths inch from the point to the shank. When the daily, possession or season limit is reached, the angler must stop fishing for salmon, including catch-and-release. It is unlawful to take or fish for salmon by snagging. Salmon caught in a legal manner must be either released or killed immediately after landing.

Anglers must have a valid Idaho fishing license and salmon permit in possession to fish for salmon. A 2010 salmon permit from the spring or summer season is still valid.

To increase flexibility, the fall Chinook fishery has been divided into several management areas.

Clearwater River: The Clearwater is open from its mouth, a line from a posted sign on the north bank, south to the western-most point on the south bank, upstream about 1.7 miles to the U.S. Highway 12 Memorial Bridge.

Snake River: The Snake is open in four sections:

· From the Washington/Idaho border – a line from a posted sign on the west side of Confluence Island due south to the point off the Green Belt Boat Ramp – upstream to the U.S. Highway 12 bridge, known as the Blue Bridge, between Lewiston and Clarkston.

· From the Blue Bridge upstream to the Oregon/Washington border.

· From the Oregon/Washington border to the mouth of Sheep Creek.

· From the mouth of Sheep Creek to Hells Canyon Dam.

A map showing the boundaries is available in the 2010 Fishing Seasons and Rules brochure.

News Source: Idaho F&G - Aug. 30, 2010