Idaho Fish and Game seeks comments as officials consider spearfishing proposals
ERIC WELCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 4 weeks AGO
The comment period for the proposed changes will close 11 a.m. Monday, April 28.
Photo courtesy IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is encouraging local anglers to offer feedback as the agency prepares to consider modifying a statewide ban on spearfishing for game fish in May.
Changes proposed for the Panhandle region include permitting spearfishing for the harvest of walleye, lake trout and northern pike in bodies of water including Lake Pend Oreille. IDFG will accept comments through an online form until 11 a.m. April 28.
The proposed changes stem from a May 2024 request in which anglers petitioned IDFG to revise Idaho’s game fish spearfishing prohibition. Earlier this year, state legislators approved an administrative rule allowing spearfishing to become a legal method of take in waters prescribed by the agency.
In the Panhandle region, proposed changes would allow spearfishers to target walleye in all waters open to fishing, lake trout on Lake Pend Oreille and Upper Priest Lake and northern pike in Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork, Pack and Pend Oreille rivers.
Agency staff noted that the proposals are motivated by a desire to incentivize harvest of the three species, which IDFG has said pose a threat to native fish conservation and popular fisheries.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will consider proposals for spearfishing seasons at its May 22 meeting in Idaho Falls. Pending approval, seasons would take effect July 1, 2025.
Information: idfg.idaho.gov/fish/spearfishing/panhandle
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