The Upper Salmon River Chinook fishery is officially open, and local anglers lost absolutely no time hitting the water. According to the latest field dispatch from Greg Schoby with Idaho Fish and Game, fishers clocked a staggering 1,343 hours of effort over the opening four days, harvesting 15 hatchery adults and releasing four wild Chinook. Meanwhile, the Sawtooth Hatchery trap has been buzzing, welcoming 363 adult hatchery fish through the gates.
While the migration run past Bonneville Dam has wrapped up at just over 2,000 adult hatchery Chinook, survival rates between the dams have bounced back. A total of 1,342 fish have made it past Lower Granite Dam, bringing the survival conversion rate to a healthy 75%—just a hair under the historic average. As it stands, the current harvest share sits at 204 adult hatchery Chinook, with a few late-traveling tagged fish still in the system that could bump that number up.
Tracking data from the Elevenmile monitor shows a fresh wave of both wild and hatchery fish pushing upstream. Historically, it takes about 10 days for these fish to travel from the tracking array to the hatchery, meaning a prime window of opportunity is hitting the river right now.
Schoby predicts that the absolute best fishing of the season will happen over the next week or two. The ultimate hope is that the salmon decide to take a leisurely stroll and bite, rather than sprinting straight past everyone’s lines. Over in Pahsimeroi news, numbers are also tracking ahead of expectations, with the local facility already trapping 106 adult Chinook.
Check out the full report here.
