Here’s some good news for fans of steelhead fishing on the Clearwater and lower Snake River in Idaho. Starting on January 1st these streams have been opened, after being closed earlier for concerns about escapement to hatcheries. The Clearwater and the Snake River below the Course Creek boat ramp were closed in September. Additional trapping activities were implemented at Dworshak Hatchery and at Lower Granite Dam. After an additional month of trapping for the Clearwater River hatchery programs, fishery managers are confident that there are enough steelhead for hatcheries and to provide fishing opportunity. Fishery managers also plan on enlisting anglers to help provide steelhead broodstock in the South Fork of the Clearwater this spring. The daily limit for steelhead on the Clearwater River and the lower Snake River downstream of the Course Creek boat ramp will be one adipose fin-clipped fish per day, with none over 28 inches. I was glad to hear that these legendary steelhead streams are getting enough steelhead to allow for fishing. My brother Rick Graybill spent a couple of seasons guiding on the Clearwater. What attracted him to this river was the size of the steelhead, which on average, were much larger than those caught in our local area.