This is great news whether you fish for them or not! Our Nez Perce tribe has done a lot recently. Not only in this area, but also in single-handledly bringing back coho to Idaho. Mike
[url "http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2017664181_fall_chinook_redds_on_rise_in.html"]http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2017664181_fall_chinook_redds_on_rise_in.html[/url]
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That is good news. The significant increase in the number of redds certainly shows that the programs are working. Kudos to all involved!
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This is why you can't get a boat on Brownlee in late summer. They flush it like a toilet.
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+1iain'tlying and the fishing for the most part sucks. not near what it used to be.
bring me ocean run smallmouth then i will say congrats 
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Great to see a species native to Idaho on the upswing. You smallie guys crack me up........ laffin
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I like catching smallmouth, but I'd trade all the smallmouth in the state of Idaho, plus all the Snake River dams, for thousands of more Chinook. There's not even a question.
Restoration of a native species for the win.
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Not trying to be a fire starter here guys but smallies are not native to Idaho. I know every body loves to catch them. even I do. My style of thinking has me wanting to protect the native sea run fish a little more than nonnative panfish. The smallies on the Grand Ronde in Washington straight up put a hurt on Steelhead and Salmon. I imagine they also do their fair share of damage in the snake and clearwater also.
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Very encouraging article. Especially looking at the increase in natural spawners. Thanks for sharing it. The past 2-3 years have been encouraging for at least 3 of our northwest salmon species. Hope it keeps up and we should be thankful for the efforts of "The People"
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Im with you on this steelheadkid glad to see the native fish making a comeback. i also would trade all the smallmouth in idaho for a full on recovery of salmon and steelhead.
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Nobody wants to see the Native Species disappear. It just gets frustrating when an excellent fishery (Brownley) is created and then the same guys turn around and take it away from you. Where does it end? I know some are in favor of breaching the lower Snake River Dams in the name of Salmon and Steelhead but I ain't one of them. Espescially when they are having to barge fish through all of the damn dead water on the lower Columbia.
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i am 100% in agreement with iaintlying. i love my bass ! if you could catch salmon and steelhead in lakes i might get into that. but having lived in alaska and being forced to fish here as a kid for steelhead i have had my fill of combat fishing for two lifetimes.
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Combat fishing is for those that fish meat holes............... I can fish the snake, salmon, and clearwater all season and find solitude and gobs of fish untouched. Just need to put in the leg work and effort. Smallies pound for pound are a great fight but I'd prefer to catch 1 steelhead or salmon a day than 100 dink smallies from the snake or one of its impoundments.
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So you guys are saying you would like to keep a group of native fish that have spawned in Idaho since before man existed struggling to survive and staying borderline endangered/extinct just so you can fish for a non native panfish? Im asking this as a legitimate question that i hope you both (IAintLYing and Hulapopper) answer. Im not trying to be rude about it just a friendly debate.
I think as sportsman we owe it to the wild resources we use for recreation and pleasure to make sound logical decisions as to what is best for preserving what is and once was plentiful here. every sportsman has to make the decision between what they want and what is right. this can be hard to do as human beings. Its in our nature to side with our wants.
Honestly Chinook, Coho, Steelhead, Sockeye, Lamprey and Shad all on the outs because of one non native fish that you happen to enjoy fishing for at the present time?
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I like fishing for panfish. I like fishing for steelhead & salmon. In this great state we have some nice fisheries. I'm not against or for the removal of a good fishery. But if it helps maybe it would be worth it. There are plenty of other great fisheries for smb,lmb, and other panfish maybe once they got the steelhead/salmon recovery figured out our fish & game could put more effort into improving our other lakes and reservoirs. But like I said I'm not against it nor am I for it. I see the upside and the downside.
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I love catching smallies but I have to go with the native fish big time over a non native, especially when you can use other lakes/ponds/reservoirs that don't directly affect the steelhead/salmon runs. I think the more they can do to restore/successfully manage our anadromous fish the better even if it does mean losing some quality fishing for other species, we as sportsmen should support anything that will help ensure that future generations can enjoy those amazing fish, even if that means driving somewhere else to catch a smallie.
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I'll keep it civil as long as everybody understands that these comments are opinions and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Having said that I think Salmon and Steelhead recovery in Idaho is a joke. The deck is stacked against them and it probably won't change in our lifetime. The hundreds of turbines along 900 miles of rivers are not going away anytime soon.
And don't even get me started on the friggin River Wolves below Bonneville that man has chose to do nothing about.
One thing I do know for sure is this mess man has created has also created angling and recreational opportunities that millions of people take advantage of all year long. I.e. Hells Canyon complex, C.J. Strike and so on. It's not just about small mouth bass chrome.
Can a person really have his cake and eat it too?
Anyway, you asked and there's my take on it. No offense intended.
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salmon and steelhead returned to idaho in catchable numbers every year before they flushed brownlee. am i a steelhead and salmon lover ? no way. having said that i don't want them to dissapear either. but with the gas prices the way they are i don't see myself getting out much to bass fish as it is, and i am not going to spend 100 $ + to drive to woodhead at brownlee, or another "flushed" impoundment, to catch 1/10th of the fish i caught not even ten years ago.....it takes my fishing opertunity away, i buy a liscence too and it makes me mad.........[crazy]
having said that i don't have a beef with the salmonoid guys as long as you don't try and kill off my opertunity too. and the well just fish somewhere else for bass argument does't set well with me. there are way more and way fresher steelhead and salmon in oregon.......my 2 pennies
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I fish for everything Idaho has to offer and I think a lot of people here are the same way. I feel that we should stop wasting money on the salmon and steelhead fishery and actually do some real management of the salmoniods. We waste millions for what a few extra fish coming up the river. I want real recovery of the population. People that fish for other species dont want to go fishing and there to be less fish. No matter what you fish for you want to see fish and with the salmon and steelhead deal the populations need to be recovered. Steelhead and Salmon are much more complicated fishery than bass or other species. I think the
dest thing is that we have the best spawning habitat in the northwest, but we wont help the fish get here and help the smolt get to the ocean. Throwing money at the problem doesnt solve it. This is my 2 cents.
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