Idaho fall Chinook: North Fork Clearwater opened Sept. 1 on a below-average run

Idaho’s fall Chinook season is open Aug. 18–Nov. 1 on the Clearwater, Snake, and Salmon rivers. The North Fork Clearwater opened Sept. 1. Daily limit is three adult fall Chinook, only one adipose-intact (unclipped). No daily limit on jacks. Possession is nine adults, only three unclipped. There is no season limit.

Fish and Game’s opener brief projected about 26,000 adults to Lower Granite (roughly 20,885 hatchery and 5,370 natural), below recent averages. The Spokesman-Review’s Sept. 10 Alan Liere report said the Sept. 1 lower Clearwater opener for Chinook and steelhead was slow; Lower Granite steelhead counts were about 40 percent under the 10-year average, and the Nez Perce Tribe was trapping 40–45 percent of fall Chinook for broodstock.

Confirm the live IDFG Chinook and steelhead tables — some Clearwater steelhead stretches are catch-and-release only. This is not a panic closure; managers have said broodstock is not in dire shape, but it is a thin year.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Idaho Fish and Game — 2026 Fall Chinook Season Opener. Also: Spokesman-Review — Alan Liere hunting and fishing report, Sept. 10, 2026.