Idaho Extends Fall Chinook Harvest Restrictions, Updates Steelhead Returns

Fall Chinook Salmon Season Update

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has extended the closure on harvesting adipose-intact adult fall Chinook Salmon through October 3, 2025. The restriction was first put in place on September 19 to prevent exceeding allowable impacts on wild fish populations.

Only adipose-clipped adult fall Chinook may be harvested.
Both clipped and unclipped jacks remain open for harvest.
All adult fish with intact adipose fins must be released.

Biologists estimate that between 4,000 and 5,200 wild adult fall Chinook will make it past Lower Granite Dam. If fewer than 5,040 return, allowable impacts drop from 10% to 6%, limiting the fishery to adipose-clipped harvest only.

Daily counts at Lower Granite Dam recently exceeded 900 adult fish but later fell to about 500 after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began repair work at the dam. Cooling water temperatures are expected to encourage continued upstream migration, but the popular fishing area at the Snake-Clearwater confluence may taper off soon as colder water flows diminish.

Steelhead Return Outlook

Upper Salmon, Little Salmon, and Snake Rivers

Roughly 28,500 hatchery steelhead are projected to pass Bonneville Dam this year.
This number is consistent with 2023 but below the 15-year average.
About 65% of the return is made up of smaller, 1-ocean fish (22–26 inches).
As water temperatures cool, migration is expected to accelerate, with fishing around Heller Bar and the lower Salmon River improving in early October.

Clearwater River Basin

Earlier forecasts suggested fewer than 10,000 hatchery steelhead might return, which could have triggered additional restrictions. Updated counts now project about 17,000 steelhead for the basin — a down year compared to stronger runs, but enough to operate the fishery without new limits.

Currently, only about 500 Idaho-bound hatchery steelhead have passed Lower Granite Dam, though numbers are expected to rise in October as the fish move into the Clearwater system.

What Anglers Should Know

Fall Chinook harvest remains restricted to adipose-clipped adults through October 3.
Steelhead fishing conditions should improve in October as cooler water boosts migration.
Returns to the Clearwater River Basin are stronger than earlier projections, allowing the fishery to continue without extra restrictions.