Spring chinook fishing in northeast Oregon kicks off on Saturday, April 23 with the opening of the upper Snake River to salmon fishing.
Spring steelhead anglers can fish the Grande Ronde, Wallowa, and Imnaha Rivers including Big Sheep Creek through April 30 due to 2016 regulation changes that went into effect Jan. 1. The old closure date was April 15.
Supplemental funding for a northern pike suppression project managed by the Spokane Tribe of Indians was approved by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council at its February meeting, but on the condition that the Independent Scientific Review Panel review the Tribe’s latest proposal.
The popular spring chinook fisheries on the Deschutes and Hood rivers will open this spring.
Idaho Fish and Game commissioners approved the spring chinook seasons and rules for the Clearwater, Salmon and Little Salmon rivers during its regular meeting last week.
Anglers can now fish for bass, walleye and channel catfish without daily catch or size limits from the mouth of the Columbia River 545 miles upstream to Chief Joseph Dam.
Idaho Fish and Game wants young steelhead released into the South Fork of the Clearwater River to be from parents taken from that river, so the department is asking anglers to catch local spawners to fill nearby hatcheries.
Fishing in Idaho for spring and summer chinook will probably happen in the same places as last year if pre-season forecasts are correct, but the run size is expected to be smaller than last year, and anglers could see shorter seasons and/or lower bag limits.
Ten seconds is all the time an angler should take to remove the hook, take pictures and return a fish to water, according to a recommendation in a recent survey of studies about the impacts of exposing fish to air.
Regular closures on catch and release waters could actually improve the quality of angling when the waters are reopened, according to a recent study.
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a regulation that will require anglers to kill and keep any walleye that are caught on Swan Lake, the Swan River and its tributaries in the northwest region of the state.
More than 150 steelhead were stocked in the Boise River on Thursday the first of two planned stocking efforts prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Steelhead fishing is unique, considering it is very good anytime catch rates are lower than 20 hours per fish caught.
With most of the second largest run of fall chinook salmon on record now upstream of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and entering tributaries, and a coho salmon run that so far has failed to materialize, Northwest states are beginning to scale back or end sportfishing catch limits for both species.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game plans to begin the second phase of a three-year project to increase the amount of available kokanee spawning habitat in Lake Pend Oreille. The work will be completed along the shoreline of Idlewild Bay on the southern end of the lake.
After record-breaking catches of fall chinook salmon in the Buoy 10 fishery at the mouth of the Columbia River, the two-state Columbia River Compact is prohibiting the take of all chinook salmon beginning tomorrow.
As Northwest scientists work to understand why 80 large sturgeon suddenly died in the Columbia River last month, a BPA research project focused on sturgeon sexual maturity attempts to gain insight into the reproductive cycle of the ancient fish.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has approved a coho salmon season for the mainstem Clearwater, Middle Fork and North Fork Clearwater rivers.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has lifted fishing restrictions the lower Deschutes River. Anglers can now fish after 2 p.m. from Macks Canyon to the mouth of the river. The change is effective immediately.
As Montana creeps into the dog days of summer, state fisheries managers continue to monitor wild and native trout streams that have endured nearly two months of stressful low and warm water conditions.
Smallmouth bass, walleye, sunfish, perch, bluegill, catfish, crappie.
All are fish that thrive in the warm waters of several Oregon rivers. All are non-native, or invasive, species and, given the opportunity, some will feed on juvenile salmon and steelhead, many of those listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Globally, 60 percent of fish caught by recreational anglers are released and many of those anglers use manual release techniques they believe will help the fish survive.
Reports of fish die offs have been coming into the Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional office in Coeur d'Alene for about the last two weeks.
Fisheries managers in Idaho recently provided an update on ongoing research into the nature of lake trout, kokanee and native fish species in the Priest Lake ecosystem, finding that kokanee have been persistent despite the presence of lake trout.
With spring chinook salmon passing Bonneville Dam in higher numbers than expected, fish managers from Washington and Oregon this week agreed to extend the fishing season on the Columbia River for miles below and above the dam.
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