The application period for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat controlled hunts runs April 1 to 30, and applications can be made at any Fish and Game office, license vendor, by telephone or online. Telephone applications may be made at 800-554-8685. All mailed applications must be postmarked no later than April 30.

At its March meeting, Fish and Game Commission made changes to 2018 mountain goat and bighorn sheep hunts, including:

n Eliminating the two tags in mountain goat controlled hunt 6005 in Unit 10-3 because the goats appear to have moved out of the hunt area.

n Eliminating bighorn sheep hunt 7007 in Unit 46-2, which would have offered two tags, and extended hunt 7006 in Hunt Area 46-1 to close Oct. 8 instead of Sept. 14. Biologists are concerned that a disease event may have reduced the number of harvestable rams, so an adjustment in tags was needed.

To apply for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunts, each applicant must possess a valid 2018 Idaho hunting or combination license.

Application fees increased for 2018, and prices are $16.75 for residents and $41.75 for nonresidents. Those fees are nonrefundable.

Moose, goat and sheep hunt applicants must pay the tag fee along with the application fee when they apply.

n Fees for residents under “Price Lock” are $183.50.

n Residents who are not price locked pay $216.50.

n Nonresidents pay $2,143.50 to apply.

Moose, sheep and goat drawing results will be online in early June. Tag fees will be refunded to those who do not draw.

People who apply for moose, sheep and goat hunts are ineligible for many deer, elk and pronghorn controlled hunt drawings. To see details, go to page 37 of rules booklet.

For more information, review the 2017 & 2018 Moose, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat Seasons and Rules brochure available at all license vendors.

Moose, sheep and goat tags are among Idaho’s most coveted hunts, and also among the most successful for harvest.

In 2017, hunter success was:

n Moose: 68 percent

n Sheep: 64 percent

n Goat: 68 percent

With the grizzly bear population in eastern Idaho fully recovered and removed from federal protection, Idaho Fish and Game will host meetings in Idaho Falls and Boise regarding a proposed fall hunting season.

Idaho Falls

• April 17, 6:30 p.m., College of Eastern Idaho, 1600 South 2500 East, John Christofferson Multi-Purpose Building Cafeteria, Building #3

Boise

• April 19, 6:30 p.m., Riverside Hotel, 2900 W. Chinden Blvd

The current proposal is to offer a tag for one grizzly bear for the fall season of 2018. The meetings will be held to discuss the proposal and gather public input. They will involve a presentation and then an open house format to gather information and take comment. Comments will be gathered at the meeting, and also online at idfg.idaho.gov starting on April 16.

Hunting is part of the grizzly bear conservation strategy and consistent with the management of bears in the greater Yellowstone area outside of the park and in eastern Idaho. Grizzlies in north Idaho remain under federal protection.

Fish and Game is managing grizzly bears and proposing a hunting season based on an agreement with Montana and Wyoming. Idaho has the smallest portion of land in the grizzly’s range outside of Yellowstone National Park, and the hunting opportunity will always be relatively small compared to the other states.

The Fish and Game Commission has directed department staff to include public involvement for grizzly bear hunting proposal.

Spring is here, days are getting longer and warmer, which are good reasons to break out the fishing rods and take advantage of some early season fishing opportunities.

Idaho Fish and Game stocks trout year round, but expands its operations in April as more waters become suitable for trout. Typically, ponds are among the first places, followed by small lakes and reservoirs, then larger reservoirs, but that depends on weather and other factors.

To get the latest information about where Fish and Game is stocking, check out the stocking reports page at https://tinyurl.com/y9n42j28.

While trout fishing is the favorite in Idaho, there’s also warm-water fishing opportunities in many locations, and don’t take that “warm-water” name too literally. There can be good fishing for bass, crappie and bluegill during early spring when the water is still fairly cool.

If you’re new to fishing, or have never fished before, but still want to take your kids fishing, check out Fish and Game’s Learn to Fish page for instruction, tips, videos and more at https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/learn-to.

If you’re looking for places to go fishing where the trout stocking trucks have already visited, or will soon, here are some places to consider. Most of these are Family Fishing Waters, so there are fairly simple and uniform fishing rules.

Southeast

Bannock Reservoir (Pocatello) aka Portneuf Wellness Complex Reservoir: Located near the county fairgrounds, this community park offers trout fishing from multiple docks, as well as many other recreational amenities nearby. The 6-acre reservoir is surrounded by playgrounds, soccer fields, basketball courts, running and biking trails.

Edson Fichter Pond (Pocatello): This 3.4-acre pond is located in southwestern Pocatello along the Portneuf River at Edson Fichter Nature Area. It features several docks and a trail around the pond for easy access and lots of shoreline fishing. The pond is stocked with rainbow trout. The limited development around the pond make it an oasis for wildlife.

Crystal Springs Pond (Springfield): This 5.3-acre pond is surrounded agriculture lands northeast of American Falls Reservoir. It’s stocked with rainbow trout.

Jensen Grove Pond (Blackfoot): This pond is seasonal, and if conditions allow, it will fill and be stocked with rainbow trout in April. This 55-acre pond is located within Jensen Grove city park along the Blackfoot Greenbelt, and facilities nearby include boating, playground, restrooms and picnic areas.

Upper Snake

Gem Lake (Idaho Falls): This 400-acre reservoir is created by a dam on the Snake River. It has a fishing dock and lots of opportunities for shore angling, as well as boating. You can catch trout, warmwater fish, and sturgeon. Sturgeon are catch and release only.

Becker Pond (Idaho Falls): This 1.4-acre pond, located in Ryder Park, has ADA access for people in wheelchairs or others with limited mobility. This pond is managed with a two-fish daily bag limit to keep catch rates high. Boats, motors, wading and swimming are prohibited because of its small size.

Tips for early spring fishing

Watch the weather: Fishing is typically better when temperatures are warming and the barometer is stable. A temperature drop or a storm typically slows fishing.

Take it slow: Fish can be sluggish in cold water. Air temperature warms much faster than water, so even on a warm, spring day, the water is probably chilly. Bait is a good option, and if you’re using lures or flies, a slow retrieve usually catches more fish.

Don’t overlook warm-water fish: They become active sooner than you might think, but expect subtle strikes, and the fish to be in different places than where you found them last summer. Bass fishing can be good. Catch rates tend to be lower in early spring than other times of year when fish are more active, but the biggest fish are often the first to become active.

Think small: Smaller, shallower waters typically warm faster than larger bodies of water. Ponds, small lakes and reservoirs are good places to start. Same goes for shallow coves, bays and flats in larger lakes and reservoirs.

Fish locally: If the forecast looks iffy, you don’t want to drive a long ways and then find poor weather and water conditions. Spring is a good time to explore local ponds and reservoirs that you may have overlooked in the past.

Make it a kid-friendly outing: If the fish aren’t biting, find other things to keep youngsters amused. If you’re in a city, maybe pick a pond in, or near, a park. If you’re in a rural area, take a hike around the pond and look for wildlife, which often congregates near water. Bring snacks and a dry set of clothes in case kids get wet. Make it a fun trip so they will want to return later.

Mild weather so far means more young deer and elk are surviving this winter, which will likely grow herds and produce more game for big game hunters next fall.

Idaho Fish and Game biologists have been monitoring 244 mule deer fawns and 246 elk calves that were captured earlier this winter and fitted with telemetry collars.

Through the end of February, monitoring showed 88 percent of the fawns and 97 percent of the calves were still alive. That compares with 55 percent of the fawns and 80 percent of the calves surviving through February last winter.

Less snow, especially at lower elevations, and warmer temperatures means fewer animals are likely to die from malnutrition, predation and other factors that increase mortality during a difficult winter.

Despite spring-like temperatures in early March, the young animals still have not cleared their final hurdle. Those weakened by winter may have a hard time transitioning to fresh, green forage and can still die.

For that reason, “March and April is when we normally see the highest mortality,” said Daryl Meints, Fish and Game’s deer and elk coordinator.

However, barring a late surge of cold weather, it’s likely that survival will be considerably higher than last year. Only 30 percent of fawns that were collared and 54 percent of calves survived last winter, which was among the lowest survival rates in the last 20 years.

Biologists will monitor animals well into spring and produce the final survival rate for fawns and calves, but will continue monitoring them until the collars quit working or fall off, which they are designed to do as the young animals outgrow them.

Hunters took more elk and white-tailed deer in 2017 than in 2016, but mule deer harvest was down. With a much milder winter so far, Fish and Game biologists expect the drop in mule deer harvest to be short lived as herds recover from last year’s difficult winter across Central and Southern Idaho.

The 2017 elk harvest was about 17.5 percent above the 10-year average, and despite the dip in the mule deer harvest, 2017’s overall deer harvest was still slightly above the 10-year average.

Elk harvest

Elk hunters are enjoying some of the best hunting in recent history. Harvest was up by 1,242 elk in 2017 over 2016, which was largely an increase in cow harvest. The bull harvest dropped 341 animals between 2016 and 2017.

Fish and Game increased cow hunting opportunities to reduce herds that are causing damage to private lands in parts of the state.

Idaho’s elk harvest has exceeded 20,000 elk for four straight years, which hasn’t happened since the mid 1990s.

Idaho’s elk herds have grown in recent years thanks in part to mild winters, but elk don’t typically suffer the same fate as mule deer when winter turns colder and snowier.

“Elk are much hardier animals and less susceptible to environmental conditions,” Fish and Game Deer and Elk Coordinator Daryl Meints said. “It has to be a tough winter to kill elk.”

Deer harvest

The 2017 deer harvest dropped by 11,426 animals compared with 2016, which included a slight increase in white-tailed deer harvested, but 11,574 fewer mule deer harvested.

In response to last year’s hard winter, Fish and Game’s wildlife managers reduced antlerless hunting opportunities for mule deer in 2017 to protect breeding-age does and help the population bounce back more quickly. That resulted in 2,517 fewer antlerless mule deer harvested.

Fish and Game’s mule deer monitoring last winter showed only 30 percent survival for fawns, which was the second-lowest since winter monitoring started 20 years ago. Those male fawns would have been two-points or spikes in the fall had they survived, which typically account for a large portion of the mule deer buck harvest. Harvest statistics showed hunters took 3,709 fewer two points or spikes in 2017 than in 2016.

Mule deer tend to run on a “boom and bust” cycle, and “every few years, you’re going to have a winter when this happens,” Meints said.

However, it tends to be fairly short-lived unless there are consecutive winters with prolonged deep snow and/or frigid temperatures. While mule deer hunting was down, whitetail hunting remains solid and stable, and hunters took more whitetails than mule deer last fall, which is rare for Idaho.

The whitetail harvest in 2016 and 2017 hovering just below the all-time harvest record of 30,578 set in 2015.

Northern Idaho had an average winter last year, and whitetails in the Panhandle and Clearwater continue to thrive after a series of mild-to-average winters there.

“We don’t have as much telemetry-collar data like we do with mule deer, but there’s no reason to believe we haven’t had higher-than-normal survival of whitetail fawns and adults, and the harvest data supports that,” Meints said.

Looking ahead

While last winter’s above-average snowpack in Southern and Central Idaho took its toll on fawns, it also provided a lot of moisture that grew lots of food for big game animals. Many animals went into winter in great condition, and so far, weather has been mild compared to last year.

A mild, or average, winter typically grows herds because a larger proportion of the fawns and calves survive, which is a critical time for their passage into adulthood.

Even during the difficult winter last year, more than 90 percent of the radio-collared mule deer does, and more than 95 percent of the radio-collared cow elk survived.

Idaho has an abundant and self-sustaining population of mountain lions, and they’re an animal that Fish and Game officers and biologists deal with on a fairly regular basis during winter. This winter is no exception.

Recent incidents have included a mountain lion killed by local sheriff’s deputies near an elementary school in Bruneau, three other lions killed in the Wood River Valley, and at least two lions released after being inadvertently trapped by licensed trappers. These are likely signs of a healthy population and possibly an expanding one.

Mountain lions are game animals and hunting them is regulated by Fish and Game, but there is no trapping season for mountain lions. Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers recently recorded a video when they released a lion from a trap in the Clearwater Region.

Mountain lion incidents are more common in winter because cats follow deer and elk herds, which are more likely to be found at lower elevations, and it also coincides with prime trapping season.

Mountain lions that are inadvertently trapped when they are not near communities are typically released if it’s safe and feasible to do so.

Mountain lions are territorial animals, and mature males and females dominate the best habitat, which typically allows them to find prey and avoid people. But when young mountain lions leave their mothers, they are often pushed out of that prime territory and into areas with less prey. This often puts them closer to people. They may end up near neighborhoods and find pets a potential source of food.

When mountain lions follow deer and elk to lower elevations during winter, it also puts them in closer proximity to people, so there are more encounters. In many cases, it’s a mountain lion wandering through an area and moving on. Sometimes it’s a younger lion that’s been driven out of its usual home range.

When Fish and Game receives reports of mountain lions near towns or homes, each case is treated individually. If a lion appears to be getting too comfortable near people, Fish and Game officials usually attempt to capture the animal. However, the animals may be killed if officials feel the animal could be a threat to public safety. Because it’s difficult to predict whether a mountain lion will leave an area or take up residence there, officials may decide to err on the side of public safety and have the animal euthanized.

Do anglers prefer more trout or larger trout? Idaho Fish and Game is answering that question by providing both in 2018 and beyond.

Fish and Game will stock more rainbow trout throughout the state than in recent years thanks to the 2017 license and tag fee increase, and many trout will be bigger.

“Our hatchery managers were proactive and ordered more eggs last summer because they wanted to get more trout in the pipeline for this spring,” said Gary Byrne, Fish and Game’s fish production manager.

Stocking plans for 2018 call for about 123,000 more “catchable” rainbow trout (8 to 11 inches) and 41,000 more 12 to 14-inch trout commonly known as “magnums.” Then in 2019, anglers will get 56,000 more catchables and 180,000 more larger trout compared to 2017 numbers. The 2019 stocking plan will provide the basis for subsequent future years.

The challenge of growing larger “magnum” trout is it takes more food and more time, so it will require extra months to get those larger trout ready to stock, but “a higher proportion of them are going to end up on angler’s hook,” Byrne said.

Fish and Game’s research has shown trout in the 12-inch range can be more cost-effective in some waters if you factor that they’re caught at a higher frequency than the smaller fish. So basically, anglers catch more of those trout, and they’re bigger.

Not only that, in Idaho’s productive lakes and reservoirs, those 12-inch fish will continue to grow after being stocked, and growth rates of an inch per month are common during the prime growing months, which means there will be more trophy-sized trout swimming in Idaho.

“In bodies of water where they can carry over through winter, we should see lots of bigger fish,” Byrne said.

That doesn’t mean all trout stocked will be the larger fish. Depending on the body of water, smaller “catchables” can also be caught at high rates, such as in community ponds, or other waters with high fishing pressure that leads to most of the fish getting caught. Fish and Game stocks trout so anglers can catch them. The fish are sterile, so incapable of reproducing.

Fish and Game stocks trout year round in some waters at low elevations with mild climates, then stocking starts ramping up throughout the state in the spring, which is followed by major stockings prior to peak angling times, such as spring and summer holidays. You can see where stockings take place on Fish and Game’s stocking report page.

Fisheries managers also stock a variety of fish beyond rainbow trout. For example, many of the kokanee salmon caught by anglers in large lakes and reservoirs are stocked as fingerlings. Same goes for high mountain lakes, which typically get an influx of fingerlings on a rotating basis every few years. Those stocking numbers will remain consistent.

Managers also occasionally stock brown trout, westslope cutthroat trout, Lahontan cutthroat, tiger trout (a brown/brook hybrid), and rainbow-cutthroat hybrids in waters around the state, but in much smaller quantities than rainbow trout.

Welcome to 2018 and all it will bring for outdoors folks. Many are looking forward to hunting, and even if you’re not a hunter, you’re probably a wildlife watcher, so there’s lots of cool things in the coming months.

It’s tricky to talk about the upcoming hunting season while it’s still in progress. Jan. 1 is technically the start of the new hunting season, so don’t forget to buy your 2018 license, but it’s also continuation of 2017 for a variety of hunts.

Let’s look at what’s currently available, and then what lies ahead. As most hunters know, Idaho has some generously long bird seasons, so shotgunners can continue to pursue waterfowl and upland game birds. Waterfowl hunters should take note of extended seasons for white-fronted geese and snow geese, which last into February and March, respectively. You can see details in the waterfowl rules booklet.

Predator hunters can take advantage of animals being at lower elevations, and snow provides easier tracking, and pelts are in prime condition.

Those aren’t the only things that hunters focus on during winter. Most are involved in hunting year-round, even if they don’t have a gun or bow in hand and a tag in their pockets. We’re watching wildlife and gearing for upcoming seasons.

So far, weather is pretty mild in comparison with last winter, but there’s still a lot winter to get through. It’s a busy time of year for Fish and Game crews because they’re monitoring big game herds by flying and counting animals and trapping and collaring young deer and elk so they can see how many survive winter.

Winter is a double-edged sword for big game herds because the habitat they rely on needs snow and rain to grow forage and sustain animals, but like last winter showed, there can be too much of a good thing.

Winter is a critical test for fawns and calves. If they survive their first winter, they’re likely to survive many more. Long-term averages show about 57 percent of mule deer fawns will survive their first winter, but for adults it’s typically over 95 percent. Because elk are larger animals, calves usually survive at higher rates, but getting through the first winter isn’t a gimme for them, either.

Fish and Game collars hundreds of young deer and elk and adult females every winter so they can monitor their survival and adjust hunting seasons in accordance. Biologists have been doing it for 20 years, and it has provided valuable insight into how herds fare each winter.

With a little luck from the weather, we may see our mule deer herds bounce back, or at least, sustain their current levels. Idaho’s current elk boom is likely to continue barring something catastrophic.

While winter has just started, it’s not too soon to start thinking about spring. Seems like we barely get the shotguns put away from waterfowl season and it’s time to break them out again for turkey season in April.

I also mentioned wildlife watching, and that’s another cool opportunity for outdoors folks. Most big game animals are down on winter range, which makes them easily visible, but people should always respect how important it is to leave animals undisturbed. There are many places around the state you can drive and park and spot them with binoculars or spotting scopes.

There’s also some amazing waterfowl watching in late winter and early spring when flocks of snow and white-fronted geese migrate through Idaho on their northern journey. The Fort Boise Wildlife Management Area and Roswell Marsh near Parma are both amazing places to see (and hear) them. It’s also a good place to see large flocks of turkeys, but tags for them are limited to controlled hunts, so don’t forget to apply in February.

Idaho Fish and Game Commission will meet by conference call Thursday to vote on extending the reduced bag limit and possession limits for steelhead that were set in October.

Proposed daily bag limits for spring 2018 are two steelhead daily and six in possession, which is same as the current bag limit. No steelhead longer than 28 inches in total length can be harvested on mainsteam Clearwater, North Fork Clearwater, Middle Fork Clearwater or South Fork Clearwater.

The number of hatchery steelhead returning to Idaho is sufficient to provide a harvest fishery for adipose fin-clipped, hatchery-origin steelhead under reduced harvest limits through the spring season. Length limits will conserve broodstock needed for the Clearwater River Hatchery programs.

The call will begin at 8 a.m. at Fish and Game Headquarters, 600 S. Walnut St. in Boise.

There will be no public testimony taken during the call, but the public is welcome to attend. Those living outside of Boise can listen to the call by traveling to their nearest Fish and Game regional office.

Individuals with disabilities may request meeting accommodations by contacting the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Director’s office directly at 208-334-5159 or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1-800-377-2529.