Lewiston man lands record coho salmon
Matt Hosking, of Lewiston, set a new Idaho record for coho salmon earlier this month.
Hosking reeled in a 32.8-inch coho that weighed 11.78 pounds from the Clearwater River on Oct. 13. It beat the previous record by a razor-thin margin of 0.48 ounces.
According to a news release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, this is the third year in a row that the number of coho salmon counted passing Lower Granite Dam has surpassed 15,000 adult fish.
“There are bigger coho out there, but not many,” said Joe DuPont, regional fisheries manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Lewiston. “Based on the 2,400 coho we have trapped at Lower Granite Dam this year, only two would surpass the size of this fish.”
Coho were declared extinct from the Snake River in the 1980s. But about a decade later, the Nez Perce Tribe began a reintroduction program. It took more than three decades but the coho run now provides regular fisheries for tribal and nontribal anglers.
Warming hut near Elk City removed; plans being made for replacement
ELK CITY — Members of the Valley Cats Snowmobile and All Terrain Vehicle Club recently removed the remains of the Hambly Saddle Warming Hut near here.
The 34-year-old hut collapsed under snow last winter and its removal, under an agreement with the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, is the first step in replacing the structure that provides shelter for winter recreationalists.
“We built this shelter in 1988 and ever since that time we’ve done maintenance and upkeep on an annual basis,” said club President Merle Barnett in a Forest Service news release.
He said the hut has not only given snowmobilers a place to gather, warm up and enjoy a meal but also saved lives. Hamby Saddle, about 15 air miles northwest of Elk City, is on the Old Elk City Wagon Road at a divide that separates Newsome Creek and the South Fork drainage of the Clearwater River on one side and the O’Hara Creek drainage and the Selway River on the other side.
“It’s 20 miles from Hamby to the nearest phone or help of any kind. In the third year I belonged to the club there were five people whose lives were saved by being able to get to warmth before someone could find them,” Barnett said.
He hopes the partnership between the club and Forest Service will lead to a new shelter being constructed and ready for visitors by next fall.
Muzzleloader hunting rules on agenda next week
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will host an online public meeting at 10:45 a.m. Monday to discuss a proposed rule that would allow bullets made of metal other than lead to be used in muzzleloader-only hunting seasons.
According to a news release from the agency, the proposed rule seeks to address the decreasing availability of lead-only projectiles for muzzleloaders. The department has been asked to consider changes that would allow other metals to be used in muzzleloader-only hunts.
More information on the rulemaking specifics and how to participate in the meeting that will be streamed on Zoom is available at bit.ly/3Fy0Y0F.
Lolo Pass Visitor Center switches to winter hours
POWELL — The Lolo Pass Visitor Center on the Idaho-Montana state line near here has switched to winter hours and will be open seven days a week, according to a news release from the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Litter pick-up planned for Saturday canceled
POWELL — A planned litter pick-up outing by the Snake/Clearwater Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited along the group’s Adopt-a-Highway section of U.S. Highway 12 near here Saturday has been canceled because of expected snow.
