Boise River steelhead stocking is on hold until Oxbow knows if any surplus exists

Treasure Valley anglers will not know for weeks whether the Boise River gets steelhead this fall. Idaho Fish and Game said Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, that staff will not know until after the second week of November at the earliest. The department said it will put out a news release once stocking plans are set, and that anglers can look around Nov. 20. In slower years, when the river is stocked once, that plant has typically landed on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Boise River steelhead are surplus fish after broodstock needs are met at Oxbow Hatchery. Fish are collected in a trap below Hells Canyon Dam on the Snake River starting the first week of November. In a low-return year it can take up to two weeks to catch the 600 fish required for broodstock. Surplus fish are split equally among Idaho, Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe. Fish and Game said the 2026 fall return is shaping up as one of the lowest on record and is projected to be similar to 2019, the one year in the past 30 when the Boise River was not stocked. In mid-September the department cut statewide steelhead bag limits to reduce impacts on natural-origin spawners and to meet hatchery broodstock objectives.

Salmon and steelhead returned to the Boise until about 1958, when Brownlee Dam was completed. Since 1983, Fish and Game and Idaho Power have stocked surplus Oxbow steelhead in the river when fish are available. The average plant was 1,086 fish a year from 2000 through 2009, about 504 a year from 2010 through 2019, and 379 a year from 2020 through 2025.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Idaho Fish and Game — What will steelhead fishing look like on the Boise River this fall? (Oct. 15, 2026).