Idaho Fish and Game commissioners have voted to approve a coho salmon fishing season but to delay a decision on restoring a steelhead harvest.
On Friday, fisheries managers released a proposal that would have allowed anglers to harvest steelhead while requiring them to release larger B-run fish bound for the Clearwater River and its tributaries. Harvest season was closed statewide on August 15th in favor of catch-and-release fishing because of the poorly preforming run.
Numbers of Idaho-bound hatchery steelhead, while still low, have improved over the past six weeks and fisheries managers have indicated they are comfortable that limited harvest can be restored without jeopardizing hatchery spawning goals. Commissioners, however, said in a 6-0 vote they want to give anglers more time to comment on the proposed harvest seasons and they want fisheries managers to continue to monitor steelhead passage at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River to make sure harvest doesn’t jeopardize spawning goals or wild fish escapement.
Through Sunday, just over 13,400 steelhead had been counted at the dam. The 10-year average is over 87,000.
Coho fishing will open on the Clearwater River from its mouth to the mouth of Clear Creek near Kooskia and on the North Fork Clearwater below Dworshak Dam on Saturday with a daily bag limit of two fish per day. (IDFG, Lewiston Tribune)
