6-3 SS Rainbows

 Anybody in the great Northwest interested in fishing for rainbow trout? Well I’ve found a treasure trove and it happens to be on the the Box Canyon section of the Henrys Fork of the Snake River in ISLAND PARK, Idaho.

 The headline said: “SHOCKING STUDY FINDS RECORD TROUT NUMBERS ON THE HENRYS FORK OF THE SNAKE RIVER”.  It turns out that every spring, biologists from the Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDFG) using electrofishing equipment conduct population surveys on the Box Canyon section of the Henrys Fork.  This year’s surveys show a dramatic increase in rainbow trout abundance when compared to past years.  On average, Box Canyon supports about 3,000 trout per mile, with a peak in abundance of 5,500 trout per mile in 2000.  This year’s survey documented over 6,200 trout per mile, which far exceeds any prior estimate.  I spoke with Idaho Department of Fish & Game spokesperson Greg Losinsky: “ It is a simple equation. When you have water, you have fish and when you have more water, you have more fish. Some of this increase can be attributed to high winter flows during 2011/2012, which our research has shown is critical to trout survival.” Fish that are spawned in the spring need sufficient winter flows from Island Park Dam during their first winter to survive.  The higher the flows, the more trout make it through to the next year.  During the winter of 2011/2012, winter flows were about 580 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is well above the 280 cfs average over the past decade.  So we are going to have an excellent fishing year this year. So you are saying that because of the numbers, people from all around should come fishing for rainbow trout. Yes I know all of the businesses around Island Park would love to see people come out and fish. I’m not so sure about the locals but this is going to be a fabulous year for fishing for rainbow’s and we invite everybody from far and wide to come out.”