Fish and Game bans fishing in impacted parts of the Snake River
That means no fishing of any kind is in place,
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —Idaho Department of Fish and Game has imposed a more extensive fishing ban on parts of the Snake River for all fishing on land and on the water; this additional closure is also meant to stop any confusion about what is allowed and what isn’t right now.
That means no fishing of any kind is in place from the Twin Falls power plant to the Highway 46 bridge commonly known as the Buhl grade, the same closure that is in place for water access.
Earlier in the week water access was closed but for a time fishing was still possible by land, which means some people could’ve been fishing and now have some steps to take to stop the potential spread of the mussel.
Terry Thompson with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game says, “With the closure that was put in place we realize there may have been some people out fishing earlier this week. That equipment needs to be brought to a hot wash station that the department of agriculture has- there’s two of them in Twin Falls- bring your equipment in they will decontaminate it and it’s at no charge and don’t do it at home there are some very specific protocols on how to decontaminate leave it the experts with the department of agriculture do that.”
Hot wash locations are at the visitor center and the weed department.
Much like watercraft if you’ve been in the water fishing the past 30 days. Take your gear, that means rods and waiters and anything that’s been in the water. If you do have plans to fish this weekend, fish and game says there are many other locations that you can go to.
“You can go east you can go to Freedom Park Pond in Burley. You can go North to the Big Wood River. You can go to Magic Reservoir. You can go farther west and to Oster Lakes down in Hagerman so there’s many opportunities to go fishing. Our key is to keep people out of this section of the river to avoid any potential contamination and spread,” says Thompson.
The fishing closure is currently in place until this next Friday at 5p.m.
However, that day may change as this is a fluid situation. The best place to check current information and closures is on the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s website.
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