As first sockeye returns to Redfish, salmon forecast good; plus, watch grizzly cubs wrestle
The first sockeye salmon of 2020 returned to Redfish Lake near Stanley last week, followed by another on Sunday in what officials are saying could be a promising year for the fish.
Each summer, sockeye salmon travel about 800 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the cold lakes of Idaho to spawn. This year’s first arrival was a female fish born in the wild, according to an Idaho Department of Fish and Game news release. Conservation public information specialist Brian Pearson said in the release that returns so far indicate “a substantially larger return to Idaho than last year,” when only 50 sockeye had passed the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River in Washington by Aug. 2. This year, 412 fish have passed the dam so far.
“Based on historical conversion rates between Lower Granite and the Sawtooth Basin, if no more fish crossed the dam, about 124 to 165 sockeye would return to the basin this year and likely surpass the last two years’ returns,” officials said.
Last year only 17 fish made it back to the Sawtooth Basin. In 2018, 113 fish made it to the basin.
Fisheries managers had predicted a better return this year, IDFG said, thanks to cooler water temperatures. Biologists also realized in 2017 that young fish they were releasing from hatcheries had trouble acclimating to the difference in mineral content between the hatchery waters and wild waterways. They have since adjusted the hatchery waters and believe that might be contributing to better survival rates.
Tamarack adds pump track, jump park to mountain bike options
Tamarack Resort announced Monday that it has expanded its mountain bike park to include a pump track and jump park. The Donnelly-area resort already had several miles of downhill mountain bike trails.
The pump track includes rollers and banked turns, as well as a children’s area. The jump park is geared toward intermediate to advanced riders, with 6-foot ramps and a whale-tale.
The new area is located at the base of the resort. A grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 8, from 4 to 6 p.m.
East Idaho trail camera shows female grizzly and her triplet cubs
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game on Monday released video captured on a trail camera in April of a female grizzly bear and her three cubs near Island Park.
Fish and Game spokesman James Brower said in an email that the female grizzly has been filmed before.
“She is about 15 years old and has had cubs in prior years,” Brower said in the email.
Fish and Game officials said they recently retrieved the camera and believe the footage shows the bears leaving their winter den. The three cubs wrestle and play in the snow, the video shows. Watch here:
Meridian man lands record catfish
Just a few months after a Boise man set a new state catch-and-release record for channel catfish, a Meridian man has broken that record with a fish he caught at Lake Lowell on July 24.
Reed Monson caught the 33-inch fish on a plastic swimbait. In May, Scott Turner caught a 32-inch channel catfish on the Snake River.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
