Split steelhead season is on agenda

When Idaho Fish and Game commissioners visit Lewiston on Nov. 16, among the items on their agenda will be a decision that could shake up the long-standing structure to the steelhead fishing season on the Clearwater River.

For decades, the season upstream of Lewiston’s Memorial Bridge has opened to catch-and-release fishing on July 1 and to catch-and-keep fishing on Oct. 15. The new structure that is embedded in a three-year fishing rule package would give Clearwater River anglers a chance to harvest A-run steelhead that dip into the river in September and early October and a shot at the later-arriving B-run steelhead from mid-November on. In between those two harvest periods, angling would revert to catch and release for 26 days, allowing the B-run fish to stack up.

Last year, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game formed the Clearwater River Fisheries Work Group as part of its effort to balance catch-and-release steelhead fishing on the Clearwater with new fall chinook harvest opportunities. As an outgrowth of that process, the group made up of a mix of anglers, outfitters and guides crafted proposed changes to the steelhead season.

Last spring, the department sought public comment on the proposals and eventually selected the one commissioners will vote on as part of a statewide three-year fishing rule package that also would set fishing seasons and bag limits for fall chinook and coho. Those seasons currently are approved on an annual basis depending on run strength. The rule package also includes a proposal to open catch-and-release steelhead fishing on the Snake River starting July 1. After voting on the three-year rule package, commissioners will decide if steelhead bag limits for the spring season starting Jan. 1 should be reduced because of poor returns.

If the rule package is approved, steelheaders on the Clearwater River will have to adapt to the changes. Here is how the new season would look starting in the fall of 2022:

• The river would be open to catch-and-release fishing below Memorial Bridge from July 1-Aug. 31. Harvest season below the bridge would start Sept. 1 and run through December.
• The Clearwater above Memorial Bridge, the Middle Fork and South Fork would have catch-and-release seasons July 1-Sept. 9. A harvest season on those sections would open Sept. 10 and run through Oct. 14.
• On Oct. 15, the Clearwater above Memorial Bridge, the Middle Fork and South Fork would return to catch-and-release fishing, which would last through Nov. 9. Harvest season would resume Nov. 10 and run through December, with a two-fish bag limit.
• The North Fork Clearwater would be closed to steelhead fishing in July and August. Harvest with a two-fish bag limit would be allowed Sept. 1 and run through December.
• The new season structure would allow more harvest on the A-run steelhead in early fall, when their flesh is in the best condition, and would coincide with harvest seasons for fall chinook and coho, giving catch-and-keep anglers more opportunities.
• The return to catch-and-release fishing from Oct. 15-Nov. 9 would allow the number of B-run fish to build up and for those late-arriving fish to distribute farther up the river, which could make for exciting fishing during that period and an active second opening of the harvest season. Although the overall catch-and-release season would be shortened by nine days, it would offer 26 days of no-harvest fishing at a time when lots of big B-run fish would be in the river.

The other proposal that went out for public comment but was not included in the rule package would have extended catch-and-release fishing on the Clearwater River through Oct. 24, followed by a harvest season with limits on the number of large steelhead that could be kept by anglers.

Anglers who participated in an email survey preferred the split harvest season structure 53 percent to 40 percent, with 7 percent expressing no preference. A web survey of 212 anglers showed a 46 percent preference for the structure with a lengthened catch-and-release season, while 29 percent opted for the split harvest season and 25 percent did not show a preference.

Those who would like to comment on the proposed changes or on any other Idaho Fish and Game matter can do so at a public hearing starting at 7 p.m. Nov. 15. The formal meeting starts at 8 a.m. Nov. 16. An agenda is available at bit.ly/2ZQ88vu.

Other agenda items include an update on efforts by Idaho, Wyoming and Montana to have grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem removed from federal protection, and the potential release of a draft turkey management plan for public comment.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.