Above Photo: Matt Hosking of Lewiston, Idaho set a new state record with this 11.78-pound coho salmon, caught from the Clearwater River on October 13, 2023.
Matt Hosking of Lewiston, Idaho caught a colossal coho in the Clearwater River in on October 13th, setting a new state record for coho salmon.
Impressed by the size, Matt kept the 32.68-inch salmon in hopes of a record. After weighing the fish on a certified scale at a local grocery, the 11.78-pound coho salmon was just big enough to squeeze past the previous “certified weight” record by a mere 0.48 oz!
This will be the third year in a row where Idaho will see a strong return of coho salmon, with over 15,000 adults passing over Lower Granite Dam. There has only been one other year where Idaho received a similar number of coho salmon.
Joe DuPont – the Clearwater Region Fishery Manager – says fish like this are rare. “There are bigger Coho out there, but not many. Based on the 2,400 Coho we have trapped at Lower Granite Dam this year, only 2 would surpass the size of this fish.” Those are pretty slim odds to beat.
The success of the Coho Salmon fishery in the Clearwater River has been a result of efforts by the Nez Perce Tribe, who began the program back in 1994.
Also see:
–CBB, Oct. 14, 2021, ONCE EXTINCT, NOW RE-INTRODUCED COHO PASSING LOWER GRANITE DAM IN BIG NUMBERS; FISHING OPENED ON GRANDE RONDE, CLEARWATER, SNAKE https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/once-extinct-now-re-introduced-coho-passing-lower-granite-dam-in-big-numbers-fishing-opened-on-grande-ronde-clearwater-snake/