Spring chinook salmon fishing will open April 16 on two areas of the Snake River, where fish returns are expected to exceed the 10-year average rate and provide plenty of hatchery fish to harvest. One area of the Snake opening that day extends from the Texas Rapids boat launch upstream to the Corps of Engineers boat launch, about a mile upstream of Little Goose Dam on the south bank of the river. The other extends from the mouth of Wawawai Creek (about three miles upstream of Lower Granite Dam) to Red Wolf Bridge in Clarkston. The daily catch limit is two hatchery chinook, marked with a clipped adipose fin that has healed. Chinook under 12 inches must be released and anglers are required to use barbless hooks no more than 5/8-inch from point to shank. The season, which is not listed in the fishing rules pamphlet, runs through May 31, unless catch rates exceed expectations.