Bag limits for adult spring chinook salmon on the Clearwater River and its North and Middle forks are being reduced from two per day to just one, beginning Saturday.
Idaho Fish and Game officials hope the smaller bag limit will reduce harvest and allow fishing to stretch into early July. Anglers will still be able to keep as many as four chinook per day on those rivers, but only one can be an adult.
Idaho’s quota of salmon on the Clearwater has fallen from what was expected to be nearly 9,000 fish to about 4,800. Without a reduction to the bag limit, it is likely fishing would have to be shut down prior to the Fourth of July. In surveys and public meetings, anglers repeatedly told fisheries managers they prefer long seasons to high bag limits.
Bag limits remain at two adults per day on the South Fork Clearwater and Lochsa rivers, as well as the Snake River in Hells Canyon and the Salmon and Little Salmon rivers.
