BOISE, Idaho — Despite unusually warm water in the Boise River, the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game says the trout population remains safe and stable.
Water temperature was 70 degrees Monday at Barber Park, according to a Facebook post by Float the Boise River, managed by Ada County. That concerned some, as trout thrive in the cooler water typically found upstream in the Boise River near Barber Park.
A fisheries manager for Idaho Fish and Game says the department keeping an eye on the Boise River, but just touching 70 degrees doesn’t concern them quite yet.
Water flows into the Boise River from the bottom of the Lucky Peak Dam. That typically means water upstream is cooler and safer for the trout, whereas bass prefer the warmer water downstream.
“One of the gauges down by Caldwell I was just looking at, it's like 75, 76 down there. So obviously as the water flows, it warms,” said John Cassinelli, Idaho Fish and Game Regional Fisheries Manager. “[Trout] are pretty adaptive to move up and down the corridor to find those cooler temperatures.”
Fish and Game says until water upstream in consistently in the mid 70’s or low 80’s, the trout population is not in any danger. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t alarming fishing guides like Jake Thacker. He says the water alone may not kill a trout, but a something seemingly harmless, like "catch-and-release," can.
“Trout, they like colder water,” Thacker said. “In warmer water, fighting a fish could stress them out to where you let them go, and then they die.”
As for warm water being enough on its own to kill the trout, Fish and Game isn’t concerned yet.
“It's something we'll pay attention to, but we're not really concerned the temps in the lower Boise will become an issue to where we'll start losing fish,” Cassinelli said. “We’re a long way from that.”
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