Steelhead Fishing In Idaho Suspended Until Further Notice
If you want to go steelhead fishing in Idaho, you have to get it done before December 7th, because after that it will be suspended indefinitely.
According to a letter from Idaho fish and game director Virgil Moore, fall steelhead season will be suspended starting midnight December 7, 2018 and will remain closed in 2019 until further notice.
Idaho receive a notice of intent of a lawsuit from 6 organization that said they would sue Idaho for allowing a sport fishery for hatchery steelhead. Wild harvest of wild steelhead has been illegal in Idaho for a while now, and if you want to catch and release steelhead you need a permit. Regardless, because they are threatened under the "Endangered Species Act" these organizations threatened to sue.
Fish and game did try to reach a settlement but it was rejected. The letter did say they will work on trying to reopen:
"NOAA recently published Idaho’s Steelhead Fishery Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for a 30-day public comment period. This is an important milestone in the permit renewal process and our hope is that we will receive the permit in time to reopen a portion the spring fishery."
For a full copy of the letter, click here.