(Lewiston, ID) Since 2010, Idaho Fish and Game has relied on assistance from the public to capture broodstock and help fuel the next generations of steelhead bound for our region.
After fish are caught, they are taken back to a hatchery and held until spawning takes place. Clearwater and Dworshak National Fish Hatchery staff work together to spawn the adult Steelhead. It takes about 12 months to raise them from egg to smolt stage. The eight inch smolts are then loaded onto trucks and hauled to release sites on the South Fork. The smolts will then migrate out to the ocean and return in 2 years as 30-40″ adult Steelhead.
In theory, according to Alex De Los Rios, Clearwater Regional Fisheries Technician, this localized broodstock program will create fish that are more adapted to return to the South Fork Clearwater River and result in more robust runs in the future.
This year, over 12,000 hatchery steelhead have passed over Lower Granite Dam that are bound for the South Fork Clearwater River. This is the largest return to the South Fork Clearwater River seen since the inception of the localized broodstock program. IDFG says it couldn’t have been done it without help of local anglers.
This year, IDFG will kick off tube deployment on Friday, Jan. 31. Broodstock will be collected for seven days a week until April or until goals are met—whichever comes first. Anglers that are interested in participating just need to sign a volunteer form that IDFG staff have available, allowing them to handle and “tube” steelhead with an intact adipose fin.
To safely hold steelhead until IDFG personnel can pick them up, multicolored tubes of different sizes will be placed on the bank where anglers are observed fishing. Anglers that are signed up for the program can elect to place any steelhead that they do not plan on keeping into the tubes.
Eligible fish can have both clipped and unclipped adipose fins. IDFG highly recommends placing all steelhead that anglers cannot harvest (or don’t desire to harvest) in the holding tubes. Fish and Game’s creel technicians and hatchery staff will be moving up and down the river frequently to check tubes and sample captured fish for genetics, PIT tags, and broodstock eligibility.
IDFG asks that anglers do not relocate tubes, maintain only one live fish per tube, and remember that once a steelhead goes into a tube, it can’t be removed and harvested. In addition, please try to reserve the larger tubes for large fish, and the smaller tubes for smaller fish that can fit comfortably inside them. Once a steelhead is put in a tube, it should be fully submerged in water but shallow enough for staff to access. Additionally, make sure the steelhead is faced upstream, and the tube is not in silt or mud. Fish and Game staff will have informational sheets to distribute further detailing the tubing process to participating anglers.
