ADULT STEELHEAD
Adults generally 20-40 inches in length. Irregularly
shaped black spots on back, dorsal fin and tail. STEELHEAD
are ocean-run rainbow which spawn in Snake,
JUVENILE RAINBOW TROUT/STEELHEAD
Tail fin is square or slightly forked. Dorsal fin has distinct, black-pigmented spots. Parr marks are almost round.
Illustration by Joseph Tomelleri.
Links to more information about Steelhead:
Idaho Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
What Is A Steelhead?
Steelhead are rainbow trout longer than 20 inches in length in the Snake River drainage below Hells Canyon Dam, the Salmon River drainage (excluding lakes and the Pahsimeroi and Lemhi rivers), and the Clearwater River drainage (excluding that portion above Dworshak Dam and lakes). Rainbow trout longer than 20 inches in length with the adipose fin clipped (as evidenced by a healed scar) are defined as steelhead in the Snake River from Hells Canyon Dam upstream to Oxbow Dam, and in the Boise River from its mouth upstream to Barber Dam, and in the Payette River from its mouth upstream to Black Canyon Dam, during steelhead seasons.
Only steelhead with a clipped adipose fin (as evidenced by a healed scar) may be kept. These are steelhead produced in fish hatcheries which have had their adipose fin removed as juveniles. All steelhead with a non-clipped adipose fin must be released immediately to preserve the remaining wild steelhead and because wild steelhead are listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Some hatchery steelhead are not clipped as part of a program to develop additional runs of natural spawing fish. These steelhead must also be released immediately.
Licenses—Steelhead Permits
Resident Fishing License. . . . . . . . . . . . $25.75
Nonresident Fishing License. . . . . . . . . .$82.00
Junior (14-17 years) Resident and
Nonresident Fishing License. . . . . . . . . .$13.75
Steelhead Permit
(Full Season License Required). . . . . . . $12.75
Nonresident Salmon or
Steelhead 3-day License/Permit
(includes 3-day general fishing). . . . . . . .$31.50
(Prices are accurate for January 1, 2008 but are subject to change by Legislative action.)
Anyone, except those expressly exempt, must have a valid fishing license and steelhead permit to fish for, reduce to possession, or catch-and-release steelhead. No steelhead permit is valid unless it has been properly sealed in the permit portion of the tag/permit pouch.
Any person who does not qualify as a resident must purchase either a nonresident season fishing license and a full-season steelhead permit or a nonresident 3-day salmon/steelhead license/permit.
In order to qualify for resident status, a person must be domiciled in the state for at least six months. See page 6.
Children (including nonresident children) under the age of 14 are exempt from purchasing steelhead permits. They may fish without permits if they are accompanied by a valid permit holder, provided that any fish caught must be recorded on the permit holder’s card and counted in the permit holder’s legal bag, possession and season limit. A resident child under 14 may purchase a permit without a license so that he or she may catch his or her own limit of steelhead.
When excess hatchery steelhead become available at fish hatcheries or trap facilities, they may be released in the Snake River between Hells Canyon and Oxbow dams, and in the Payette or Boise rivers to provide additional fishing opportunity. A steelhead permit is required when fishing for hatchery steelhead stocked by IDFG in these waters.
Methods of Take
• No person shall kill or retain in possession any steelhead which has been hooked other than in the mouth or jaw. Any steelhead hooked other than in the mouth or jaw must be released unharmed. See snagging definition on page 11.
• Steelhead may be taken
only with barbless hooks in the Salmon, Snake and
• Steelhead may be
taken with barbed hooks in the
PLEASE NOTE
• Steelhead caught in a legal manner must be either released or killed immediately after landing.
• All fish that are hooked, landed, and not immediately released shall be counted in the limits of the person hooking the fish.
• No person shall have in the field or in transit any steelhead from which the head or tail has been removed.
Steelhead Rules
River Location Codes
Snake River, downstream from
Snake River, from
to
Snake River,
Clearwater River, downstream from
Clearwater River, upstream from
North Fork
South Fork
Salmon River, Middle Fork to
Salmon River, North Fork to
Salmon River,
Salmon River,
Other
Little
|
Steelhead Seasons and Limits |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
RIVER SECTION |
Spring
Season
20
fish per season
|
Fall
Season
20
fish per season
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
July |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
||||||||||
|
CLEARWATER RIVER
from
its mouth upstream
to the
|
Jan
1 - April 30
3
per day,
9
in possession |
Closed
to
steelhead
fishing |
Jul 1-31
Catch-and-
Release
|
Aug 1 - Dec 31
2 per day, 6 in possession
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
RIVER:
MAINSTEM
and MIDDLE FORK
CLEARWATER RIVER
from
the
|
Jan 1 - April 30
3 per day,
9 in possession
|
Closed
to
steelhead
fishing |
Jul 1-Oct 14
Catch-and-Release
|
Oct 15 - Dec 31
2 per day,
6 in possession
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Closures: Fishing is PROHIBITED between posted boundaries approximately 100 yards upstream and
downstream from
the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Ladder and extending into the
river channel approximately 50 yards. Fishing from
the shoreline or wading along the perimeter
of Dworshak
National Fish Hatchery is PROHIBITED. Fishing from motorized
watercraft is PROHIBITED from the
Sep 15 - Apr 30. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
NORTH FORK
|
Jan
1 - April 30
3
per day,
9
in possession
|
Closed to
steelhead
fishing
|
Jul 1-Oct 14
Catch-and-Release
|
Oct 15 - Dec 31
2 per day,
6 in possession
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Closures: Fishing from the shoreline
or wading along the perimeter of Dworshak National Fish
Hatchery is PROHIBITED.
Fishing from any watercraft or wading
is PROHIBITED between the posted line
approximately 150 yards upstream from the
mouth of the North Fork Clearwater River and
the Ahsahka Highway 7 Bridge. When fishing
from the
Ahsahka Highway 7
Bridge, it is
unlawful to take any fish downstream of the railroad bridge.
Fishing from the railroad bridge is PROHIBITED.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
SOUTH FORK
|
Jan
1 - April 30
3
per day,
9
in possession
|
Closed to
steelhead
fishing
|
Jul 1-Oct 14
Catch-and-Release
|
Oct 15 - Dec 31
2 per day,
6 in possession
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
mouth of the Little Salmon River). |
Jan
1 - April 30
3
per day,
9
in possession
|
Closed to
steelhead
fishing
|
Aug
1 - Aug 31 Catch-and-Release
|
Sep 1 - Dec 31
3 per day, 9 in possession
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
Jan
1 - Mar 31
6
per day,
18
in possession
|
Closed to
steelhead
fishing
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Limit Change
Jan
1 - April 30
6
per day,
18
in possession
Season Limit 40
|
Closed to
steelhead
fishing
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
LITTLE SALMON
RIVER from its mouth
upstream to the
Highway 95 bridge near Smokey Boulder road. |
Jan
1 - May 15
3
per day,
9
in possession
|
Closed to
steelhead
fishing
|
Aug 1 - Aug 31
Catch-and-Release
|
Sep 1 - Dec 31
3 per day, 9 in possession
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
SNAKE RIVER from at the confluence of the Snake and
|
Jan 1 - April 30
3 per day, 9 in possession |
Closed to
steelhead
fishing
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Hells Canyon Dam to
Oxbow Dam, PAYETTE RIVER from
its mouth upstream to Black Canyon Dam, and BOISE RIVER from
its mouth upstream to Barber Dam. |
Jan 1 - May 31
3 per day, 9 in possession
|
Not present
|
Sep 1 - Dec 31
3 per day,
9 in possession
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Adult steelhead are only present in the
River
above
Hells Canyon Dam when stocked by IDFG. Check with regional
offices
to determine
if steelhead have been released that year. A steelhead
permit is required to fish for and keep steelhead (rainbow trout longer than 20
inches
with a clipped adipose fin). Limits are 3 per day and 9 in possession
when
steelhead are present.
Barbless hooks are not required.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
STEELHEAD HARVEST SURVEY
Steelhead harvest and angler participation are estimated by a telephone survey conducted within a few weeks after the season closes. You may be called and asked about your effort and success.
Please save your permit until three months after the season has closed or until you are contacted by IDFG.
Steelhead Rules
PERMIT VALIDATION
When a steelhead has been hooked, landed, and reduced to possession, the angler hooking the fish must immediately:
1. Completely remove one numbered notch (*) from the permit;
2. Look up the number code from the River Location Code List and write it in the space provided; and
3. Enter the month and day the fish was caught.
However, when a steelhead is released unharmed, as in no-harvest fishing, the angler is not required to make an entry on the permit.
For example, a fish caught from the
STEELHEAD FISHING IN BOUNDARY WATERS
Snake River between Idaho and Oregon or Washington: The
holder of a valid Idaho fishing license and steelhead permit may fish for
steelhead in the Snake River where it forms the boundary between the states of Idaho
and Oregon or Washington, subject to the fish and game laws of Idaho, but may
not fish from the shoreline, including wading, and may not fish in sloughs or
tributaries on the Oregon or Washington side. An