Idaho Fish and Game panel sets fall chinook season

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved a harvest season on fall chinook salmon starting Sept. 1 on the Snake River on the stretch of water between Lewiston and Hells Canyon Dam.

Once it starts, the season will continue daily until further notice — or Oct. 31, at the latest.

Fishery managers predict 23,075 adult hatchery chinook salmon will cross Washington state’s Lower Granite Dam, the last of four federal dams on the lower Snake River on their way back to Idaho.

Most of these are headed for the Snake River, above the mouth of the Clearwater.

The daily limit would be two fall Chinook, only one of which may be an adult measuring 24 inches or more in length.

The possession limit is six, of which three may be adults.

All wild salmon — those with an intact adipose fin — must be released.