A Lewiston-based angler Jerry Smith caught and released a 30-inch ocean-run coho salmon on the North Fork of the Clearwater River on November 14, 2022. This is the first record of its kind in Idaho history.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has been holding catch-and-release records since 2016, but Smith is the first to submit ocean-run coho to the relatively new category.
In November 2014, Steve Micek set the world record for ocean-run coho, which weighed 11.75 pounds and tapered out to 33 inches in length. The fish was caught in the Clearwater River as well.
Several species of anadromous fish live in the Clearwater River of northern Idaho, including steelhead trout and chinook salmon.
To return to the pristine spawning habitat provided by the Clearwater, these species migrate some 450 miles, through a series of man-made dams and towering mountain ranges.
After being declared extinct in Idaho in 1985, Coho salmon have returned to the Clearwater River system thanks to a successful hatchery program implemented by the Nez Perce Tribe.
A major resurgence of the fall coho run from the Pacific Ocean back into Clearwater country occurred in 2014, according to the Spokesman-Review.
The record was broken in October 2021, when 18,690 adult coho passed through the Lower Granite Dam on their way into Idaho, breaking the previous record of 18,098 fish.
Even though these recent numbers are impressive, they pale in comparison to the estimated annual return of more than 200,000 coho before dams were constructed along the Lower Snake River.
With the removal of four massive dams along the Lower Snake River, some conservationists and fisheries biologists say the threatened sea-faring fish could be significantly bolstered.
In addition, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) issued a report last summer supporting their claims.
A fish caught by Smith was officially entered into the Idaho record books on Monday, December 5.
Anglers chasing fall-run fish should understand the differences between coho salmon, chinook salmon, and steelhead, as each species has its own seasons and bag limits.
