STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Hemingway Chapter of Trout Unlimited is organizing a fish rescue on Friday, Oct. 1, at the Diversion 45 Canal in Bellevue.
Volunteers will meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Valley Country Store in Bellevue and proceed from there to the canal in the Howard Preserve. Those who have waders should bring them, but there are plenty of tasks available for those without. RSVP to Ed Northen at apilgram@cox.net or 1-949-246-9372, if possible.
SALMON RETURN
Meanwhile, Idaho Fish and Game reports that the department now has 2,750 adult sockeye available to spawn in Redfish and Pettit lakes or to be artificially spawned to replenish hatcheries.
All that even though only 43 adults made the 900-mile journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Sawtooth Basin in a challenging year that included poor ocean conditions and a June heat wave.
Given dangerously warm water, fish managers pulled 201 sockeye from the fish trap at the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River and trucked them to the Eagle Hatchery to ensure some returning fish would be available for spawning.
STOCKING TROUT
Idaho Fish and Game is stocking 312,000 catchable-sized rainbow trout throughout the state in October. It’s a time when the predatory birds that feed on fish are gone and waters are cooler, providing optimal conditions for the trout.
Trout are being stocked in the Magic Valley at Blair Trail Fishing Pond, Burley Pond, Dog Creek Reservoir in Gooding County , Freedom Park Pond and Lake Walcott.