FISHING -- Idaho's spring chinook fishing season on a portion of the Clearwater River will close at the end of fishing hours on Friday, the state Fish and Game Department has just announced.
With anglers near their allotted number of fish for that area, the closure will be applied to the Clearwater from Camas Prairie Railroad Bridge to Cherrylane Bridge, said Joe Dupont, regional fisheries manager in Lewiston.
"Due to the low Jack return this year, we will not be providing “jack only” fishing opportunities in this reach of river," Dupont said.
The number of Clearwater-bound adult spring chinook passing Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River has dropped sharply over the past few days.
Dupont says the department tries to manage fishing so anglers on the lower Clearwater catch about 25 percent of the run that returns to the Clearwater Basin. As overall chinook numbers have dropped at Snake and Columbia river dams over the past week, so too has the state’s projected harvest share on both the Clearwater and Snake rivers.
The Clearwater River is likely to have a harvest share of about 2,800. That would make the quota for the Lewiston-to-Cherrylane stretch about 700. Anglers had caught 484 after the weekend, leaving only 216 left to harvest.
Fishing will remain open on other portions of the Clearwater River and on the lower Salmon, Little Salmon and on the Snake River in Hells Canyon.
DuPont said the harvest share on the run returning to Rapid River, via the lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers, is projected to be about 3,700. Anglers have caught only 13 chinook there.
