Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing Update 6/10/2025: Rapid River Run, Hells Canyon, and Clearwater River Fisheries

If you look at the blue portion of the table above, you will see that we are approaching our harvest distribution goals for river codes 3C and 5. These are the river codes located around Dworshak and Clearwater hatcheries. As I indicated in earlier updates, this is where we collected most of our broodstock for the Clearwater basin, and with a lower portion of the return destined for these hatcheries than we typically see, we want to ensure we don't over harvest these fish. As such, the Director signed a closure order yesterday (June 9, 2025) that closes all salmon fishing in river codes 3C and 5 starting at the end of fishing hours this Friday (June 13, 2025). We believe that after June 13 about 40% of total harvest share will have been harvested in these two river codes and achieve their harvest distribution goals. All other river codes will remain open for at least another week. I need to mention that river code 6 (Middle Fork Clearwater River) will likely exceed its harvest distribution goal this week (10% of total harvest share). However, because a near record return of Chinook Salmon is returning to Kooskia Hatchery this year, we will continue to keep this section of river open to get at these fish.

Rapid River Return

Harvest picked considerably in the lower Salmon and little Salmon rivers last week as water conditions improved greatly (see table below). In the four days the fishery was open, we estimate that 855 adult fish were harvested with most harvest occurring in river code 11B (594 adult fish). Catch rates were good in most areas averaging about 10 hrs/fish. If you look at the blue box in the table below you will see that we have exceeded our harvest distribution goal for the lower Salmon River (55% of total harvest share) by 31 fish. As such,the Director signed a closure order yesterday (June 9, 2025) that closed all salmon fishing in the lower Salmon River (river codes 10, 11A, and 11B) effective immediately. The remainder of the harvest (618 adult fish) will go to the Little Salmon River which will remain open for at least another week. Expectations are that the Little Salmon River will fish good this week!