Idaho Fish and Game to do second fish survey in the Snake River below American Falls Reservoir

On March 24 and 26, Idaho Fish and Game's Southeast Region will be surveying fish populations on the Snake River below American Falls Dam from Oregon Trail Boat Launch to Pipeline Boat Launch.

This is a repeat of the fall survey completed last November to get a post-winter abundance estimate for comparison. Plus, fisheries teams will be tagging trout to help track angler catch rates and evaluate how fish survival varies by timing and locations of stocking. Angler tag reports will also shed more light on fish movements, including when fish get passed through American Falls Dam into the Snake River or emigrate to Walcott Reservoir.

Anglers who catch tagged fish are encouraged to report tag numbers and capture details through Fish and Game's Tag You're It! | Idaho Fish and Game program.

Fish surveys and tagging efforts reveal important information about fish populations which helps inform management decisions moving forward.

During the survey last fall, fisheries staff captured and released 312 rainbow trout, 17 mountain whitefish, 13 smallmouth bass, 11 brown trout, and 8 cutthroat trout. Other fish documented in the survey included Utah chub, Utah sucker, and yellow perch, though these species were not targeted by the survey.

The largest trout captured was a 26.7-inch brown trout. The largest rainbow trout was 22.2 inches with the majority of rainbows measuring between 16 and 20 inches. Rainbow trout were the only species with a large enough sample to estimate abundance. In other words, without biologists finding and counting every rainbow during the survey, the sample size was still big enough to give biologists a good understanding of how many fish use that stretch of river. In this case, fisheries staff estimate that there were about 2,000 rainbow trout in that mile-long stretch of the Snake River during the survey. In fact, this level of abundance is quite typical for Idaho rivers where rainbows are found.

For more information about this upcoming survey and other work being done to manage Southeast Region fisheries, please contact Regional Fisheries Manager Patrick Kennedy at 208-236-1262 or [email protected].