Low steelhead returns have prompted the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to mandate a one hatchery fish bag limit for the Clearwater River and its tributaries when the catch-and-keep season opens October 15th.
The agency also extended through the end of the year a one-fish bag limit for the Snake, Salmon and Little Salmon rivers. The cut down from the normal limit of three hatchery steelhead per day was taken to ensure enough hatchery steelhead escape fisheries and return to hatcheries for spawning, while also helping to protect naturally spawning fish.
The latest forecast calls for just under 53,000 steelhead to return to Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River this year, well-below the 10-year average of about 150,000.
It’s the second straight year of poor steelhead returns. (Lewiston Tribune)
