Low spring Chinook returns have prompted the Idaho Fish and Game Commission to change fishing to four days per week, Thursday through Sunday, on the Lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers starting Saturday, and anglers will also have a reduced daily bag limit on that date. 
While anglers have started catching Chinook in both rivers, the expected return to the Rapid River Hatchery is about a third of what was earlier forecast. Fisheries managers expect about 640 fish to be available for sport harvest on the Lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers.
Two stretches of the Lower Salmon will also close at midnight Friday and not reopen this season – the section from the mouth of Shorts Creek upstream to the boat ramp at Vinegar Creek; and from Rice Creek bridge upstream to the southernmost of the Twin Bridges that cross the river. Bag limits will be reduced Saturday to four Chinook per day, only one of which may be an adult, and the possession limit to 12, of which only three may be adults.
Meanwhile, commissioners also set the Chinook fishing seasons on the South Fork of the Salmon, Upper Salmon, and Lochsa rivers to open June 23rd. Fisheries managers monitoring Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River say that unlike the spring fish that returned late, the summer run appears to be on time.
Fishing will be open seven days per week, though the season will close at the discretion of the Fish and Game director. While bag limits on all three rivers are four per day, the number of adults allowed per day and in possession vary, and anglers should check Fish and Game rules before harvesting. (IDFG)
