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Fisheries Managers Concerned But Not Pushing Steelhead Panic Button Yet by Eric Barker Moscow-Pullman Daily News, September 6, 2026

2026 run, to date, is one of lowest on record

Fisheries managers in Idaho, Washington and Oregon are closely watching the Snake River steelhead return that is shaping up to be one of the lowest on record, but they aren't ready to make changes to fishing rules.

From July 1 to Sept. 1, there were 45,522 steelhead counted at Bonneville Dam, the first of eight dams the fish must pass on their return from the Pacific Ocean. That trails the 10-year average by more than 31,000 fish and is the third-lowest run through Sept. 1 dating back to the 1930s. This year's return trails only 2021 (37,929) and 1943 (38,877). Last year at this time, 116,685 steelhead had been counted at Bonneville Dam.

In response to a dismal return of B-run steelhead in 2019, the Clearwater River and a short stretch of the Snake River were closed to steelhead fishing. In 2021, fisheries managers reduced bag limits to one hatchery steelhead per day on the Snake River and its tributaries.

Chris Donley, fish program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at Spokane, said a closure is not under consideration this year but bag limits could be on the table.

"We are all kind of in that wait-and-see mode. There is not a lot of fish up and around us yet so we are going to let it go another week or so," he said of managers in the three states. "We have time to be thoughtful about this."

The catch-and-keep steelhead season opened Tuesday on the Snake, Grande Ronde and Salmon rivers, plus a tiny section of the Clearwater River. Most of the Clearwater River opens Thursday.

Joe Thiessen, regional fisheries manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Lewiston, said wild fish numbers are above a minimum required to hold fisheries and hatchery collection shouldn't be a problem.

"I don't see any impacts to broodstock. It's not like dire times. It's not good but we are not talking about catastrophic lows."

Thus far, most of the fish passing Bonneville Dam have been bound for the Snake, Salmon and Grande Ronde rivers. While those A-run fish typically spend just one year in the ocean, this year's run is skewed toward two-ocean steelhead.

The preseason forecast called for a return of 87,900 A-run steelhead at least as far as Bonneville Dam. The forecast now predicts a return of about 57,500 A-run steelhead, including about 18,000 wild fish.

The B-run that returns later and is largely bound for the Clearwater River is just arriving at Bonneville Dam and fisheries managers don't yet have a good sense of its strength. A preseason forecast calls for a return of 40,100 hatchery B-run steelhead and about 4,500 wild fish.

Fall chinook and coho appear to be on target to meet preseason forecasts. Thiessen said fishing for fall chinook could improve in the coming days. Early in the run, most of the fall chinook trapped at Lower Granite Dam are removed for hatchery broodstock.

"They are reducing the trapping rate at Lower Granite from 70% down to 18% starting Monday, so more fish should be passed above," he said.