the film forum library tutorial contact DONATE

Chinook Update: The Salmon are Taking Their Sweet Time (and We're Feeling the Pinch) by Angela Montana Montana Outdoor Radio Show, June 12, 2026

If you've been polishing your favorite lures and counting down the days until the June 18th opener on the upper Salmon River, it's time for a little reality check.

According to the latest June 11, 2026 pre-season update from Greg Schoby with Idaho Fish and Game, the Chinook aren't exactly throwing a welcoming party this year. The run is leveling off, survival rates are a bit sluggish, and--brace yourselves--our harvest shares are shrinking.

But it's not all bad news. Grab a coffee, and let's dive into what's actually happening out there in the water.

The Sawtooth Run: Winding Down (or Just Playing Hard to Get?)

Since late May, tracking tags have been quiet at the Bonneville Dam. Only one lonely additional PIT-tagged Sawtooth Chinook made the crossing over the last two weeks.

• The Big Picture: Instead of the robust numbers we hoped for, the total run is now tracking to end up somewhere between 2,000 and 2,200 fish.
• The Reality Check: Less fish at the dam means less fish for your cooler. IDFG originally hoped for a harvest share between 300 and 500 fish. Now? We are looking at a much tighter 200 to 300 fish harvest share.

The Journey Upstream: Tough Commutes and Low Flows

Getting from the Columbia River to Idaho is never an easy swim, but this year the commute is proving especially brutal.

Normally, about 78% of the Sawtooth stock successfully makes the trek from Bonneville Dam up to Lower Granite Dam. This year, only 60% are making it.

The silver lining? Over half of the expected adult hatchery Chinook (1,120 fish) are already past Lower Granite and officially on Idaho turf. In fact, tracking arrays near Elevenmile (just upstream of the town of Salmon) have already picked up a handful of both wild and hatchery fish over the last couple of days. Based on the math, that represents about 350 hatchery fish already pushing past Salmon.

The Silver Lining: Thanks to lower-than-average spring streamflows, these fish don't have to fight massive currents. It takes them about 7 to 10 days to travel from the Salmon area up to Stanley, meaning there should absolutely be fish waiting for you in the local zones when the season opens next Thursday.

If you're waiting on news for the Pahsimeroi return, join the club. Right now, we know next to nothing. Only two additional tagged fish popped up this week, bringing the grand total to a whopping six tags.

Statistically, we should be about halfway through this run. This leaves us with two choices: either the Pahsimeroi run is incredibly small this year, or they are running fashionably late. We're crossing our fingers for the latter.

Get Ready for the Opener

The season officially kicks off on Thursday, June 18th. Greg Schoby will drop one final update next week with the absolute latest tag numbers and finalized harvest estimates before you head out to the banks.

Want to dig into the exact data, check out the run-timing graphs, or see the river flow charts yourself? You can read Greg Schoby's full report with Idaho Fish and Game here.

Related Pages:
Count the Fish Sockeye adult returns from 1977 to the present.