the film forum library tutorial contact

Part of Lower Salmon River Closed to Spring Chinook Fishing by Eric Barker Moscow-Pullman Daily News, May 28, 2026

Harvest quotas on Clearwater and Rapid River may be met soon

One section of the lower Salmon River has closed to spring chinook fishing and other salmon fisheries in Idaho may not last much longer.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game shut down the lower Salmon River between Rice Creek Bridge below Cottonwood and Twin Bridges near White Bird. Regional fisheries manager Joe Thiessen said in an update on the run that about one-third of the spring chinook moving through the now-closed section are likely bound for the upper Salmon River and not the Rapid River Hatchery on which the fishery is based.

To protect the upriver fish, the agency closed that section. Fishing remains open on the lower Salmon River between Twin Bridges and Short's Creek at Riggins and on the Little Salmon River.

But it might not stay that way for long. Thiessen said harvest shares have fallen further for the Rapid River run, those returning to the Clearwater Basin and the Snake River in Hells Canyon.

The Rapid River run that supports fishing on the lower Salmon and Little Salmon Rivers now has a projected harvest share of 620 adult fish with 460 of those remaining. The harvest share for the Clearwater River dropped to 970 with just 388 remaining and the share for Hells Canyon fish is down to 240 with 190 remaining.