Idaho’s Proposed Steelhead Seasons Will Supercharge Angler Encounters at the Expense of Wild Fish

A Wild Columbia Basin B-run Steelhead -Photo by Dorothy Brown

Idaho’s proposed future steelhead fisheries in the Clearwater and Snake River promised anglers exceptional angling opportunity based on proposed re-structuring of the various seasons on the Clearwater River during the course of an over-long steelhead season that ends in May each year.

The Conservation Angler submitted comments to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) on the proposed seasons, and also added detailed comments on the need for a more holistic management framework to address the severe conservation concerns facing these iconic wild steelhead - fish that make among the longest journeys by this sea-going rainbow trout.

TCA’s more detailed comment to IDFG are linked below.

Clearwater River Steelhead Anglers photo by CF Nafzger