Time flies and anglers are already catching and releasing steelhead on the lower Clearwater River by Lewiston.

In fact, Idaho Fish and Game opens the 2009 steelhead take season Saturday on a 2-mile stretch of the Clearwater River from its mouth to the U.S. 12 bridge, also known as the Memorial Bridge, in Lewiston.

The daily bag limit is two and the possession limit is six.

Anglers have been catching and releasing steelies since the beginning of July, according to Fish and Game.

The early catch-and-keep opportunity is for adipose fin-clipped steelhead and does not include the Snake River.

The mouth of the Clearwater River is officially recognized as a line from a posted sign on the north bank south to the western-most point on the south bank.

A map showing the boundaries is available on page 70 of the current Idaho fishing seasons and rules booklet.

Since the mid-1990s, federal water managers have been supplementing the lower Clearwater’s naturally warm summertime water with cold water from the depths of Dworshak Reservoir to aid migration of fall Chinook salmon and steelhead through the lower Snake River. This cool water attracts adult steelhead to the lower Clearwater, where they hold up temporarily before swimming to their final destination.

From July 1 through July 23, 2,844 steelhead were counted at Lower Granite Dam. Some of them are now holding in the lower Clearwater, waiting for the Snake River to turn colder before continuing their migration.

“The majority of these early steelhead are bound for the Snake, Salmon, Grande Ronde, and Imnaha rivers. Most of the steelhead bound for the Clearwater are larger fish that don’t show up until later in September,” said Larry Barrett, fisheries biologist for Fish and Game. “This August fishery is a great opportunity for folks to get out there and catch some very bright and feisty fish.”

Fish and Game expects another good steelhead run this year and reminds anglers to look for the clipped adipose fin indicating the fish is legal to be kept. Any steelhead that has an unclipped adipose fin cannot be kept and must immediately be released unharmed.

Photo by Roger Phillips