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'Lowest Returns on Record': Idaho Fish and Game Shares Poor Outlook for Boise River Steelhead Stocking by Richard Rodriguez KTVB, October 16, 2026

The 2026 steelhead return is the lowest on record,
leaving fall stocking plans for the Boise River uncertain.

BOISE, Idaho -- Avid Boise River anglers may have to wait a little longer to find out whether steelhead will return to the water this fall, as 2026's fall return is "the lowest return on record," according to Idaho Fish and Game.

Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) on Thursday said it reduced statewide steelhead bag limits in September after the 2026 fall outlook, which officials say didn't look promising. Now, the department said it will not know until late November whether enough surplus hatchery fish will be available to stock the Boise River.

The Boise River stocking depends on surplus fish from Oxbow Hatchery, which are collected in a trap below Hells Canyon Dam beginning the first week of November, IDFG said.

In years with low returns, Idaho Fish and Game said it can take up to two weeks to collect the 600 fish needed for broodstock. Any fish left over are split equally among Idaho, Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe. Idaho Fish and Game expects to announce stocking plans around Nov. 20. In slower years, the Boise River usually gets stocked once, often the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Wildlife officials said the 2026 return is expected to look much like 2019, the only year in the past three decades when the Boise River didn't receive steelhead. The number of fish stocked has also declined over time, from about 1,086 per year between 2000 and 2009 to roughly 379 per year from 2020 to 2025.

Related Pages:
More Bad News on Columbia River Steelhead Return This Year, Less Than Half of Preseason Forecast by Staff, Columbia Basin Bulletin, 10/2/26
Columbia River Steelhead Run Forecast Downgraded Again by Michael Wright, Spokesman-Review, 9/30/26
Already Record-low Steelhead Forecast Downgraded by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 9/27/26
This Year's Columbia River Steelhead Run is the Smallest Ever Recorded by Chris Hunt, Hatch Magazine, 9/18/26
Rotten Run: Snake River Steelhead Return Stacking Up to be the Lowest on Record by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 9/16/26 Idaho Fall Chinook Recorded Slowest Columbia-Snake Dam Passage Since PIT Tagging Began by Kelly Lippke, The Pulse, 9/26/26
A-run Steelhead Trending Below Average Return by Eric Barker, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, 8/6/26
A-run Steelhead Surpass Expectations by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 8/21/25