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On the Little Salmon River the season runs through May 15; on the Salmon River from Lake Creek Bridge to Long Tom Creek, about a quarter mile upstream of the Middle Fork, the season ends March 31; and on the Snake River from Hells Canyon Dam upstream to Oxbow Dam, and on the Boise River upstream to Barber Dam, the season ends May 31.
Steelhead are in the Boise River only when stocked by Idaho Fish and Game. This year about 1,000 steelhead were stocked in the river. Barbless hooks are not required in the Boise River, but anglers must have a steelhead permit to fish for and keep steelhead, which are rainbow trout longer than 20 inches with a clipped adipose fin.
The spring steelhead limit is three fish per day, nine in possession and 20 for the season. Once limits are reached, the angler must stop fishing – even catch-and-release.
Anglers must have a valid Idaho fishing license and steelhead permit. Steelhead anglers may use only barbless hooks, and may keep only hatchery steelhead marked with a clipped adipose fin. All other steelhead must be released unharmed immediately.
Open waters for steelhead are:
· Salmon River from its mouth to the posted boundary 100 yards downstream of the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery weir, near the town of Stanley.
· Little Salmon River from its mouth to the U.S. Highway 95 bridge near Smokey Boulder Road.
· Snake River from the Washington state line at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers upstream to Hells Canyon Dam.
· Clearwater River Mainstem and Middle Fork Clearwater River from its mouth to Clear Creek.
· North Fork Clearwater River from its mouth to Dworshak Dam.
· South Fork Clearwater River from its mouth to the confluence of American and Red Rivers.
· Boise River from its mouth to the Barber Dam.
In the boundary waters on the Snake River between Idaho and Oregon or Washington, an angler with a valid 2009 Idaho fishing license and steelhead permit may fish where the river forms the boundary between Idaho and Oregon or Washington, but may not fish from the shoreline, including wading, and may not fish in sloughs or tributaries on the Oregon or Washington side. An angler may have only the limit allowed by one license regardless of the number of licenses the angler holds.
Consult 2008-2009 fishing rules brochure for exceptions and special restrictions. For more information on steelhead fishing in Idaho, check the Fish and Game Website http://fishandgame.idaho.gov.
Don’t forget to buy a 2009 fishing license and steelhead permit before heading out on New Year’s Day.
Fish and Game Searching for AWOL Radio Collars
Just after October 15 – the statewide general elk season opener – two valuable global positioning system elk radio collars suddenly went off the air.
The two bull elk in question were trapped and collared in the Sawtooth elk zone in early 2008, and the odds are long that two functioning collars quit within days of each other.
"We suspect that hunters legally harvested these animals, which is fine of course," said Craig White, Fish and Game wildlife research biologist in the Southwest Region. "We’d just like to get the collars back."
It's no secret that Fish and Game has been busy the last few years radio-collaring big game animals across the state and then following the movements of those animals in the months and years that follow. The collars are not fashionable, but they are expensive; Fish and Game biologists would prefer to reuse old ones rather than buy new ones.
"It's a matter of being efficient with our paying customers’ money," White said. "If we can get a collar back, we can use it again immediately or return it to the manufacturer to be reconditioned. Either way, the cost savings to our license buyers is huge."
It's likely that the animals were harvested by hunters living some distance from the Sawtooth zone. If that's the case, White and his team would be unable to detect any signals emanating from the collars.
Hunters harvesting any collared animal are asked to return the collar to their local Idaho Fish and Game office.
For information about the collars or the research project, contact Craig White at the Fish and Game Nampa office: 208-465-8465.
Evin Oneale is the regional conservation educator in the Southwest Region.
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