BY ANDY WALGAMOTT, NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE
Columbia River managers approved a one-day keeper sturgeon opener on Presidents’ Day early next week on two reservoirs in the western Columbia Gorge.
The Bonneville and Dalles Pools will open Monday, February 16, after ODFW and WDFW director representatives approved a staff recommendation that projected kept catches of 771 38- to 54-inch fork-length sturgeon in the former reservoir and 95 43- to 54-inch fork-length sturgeon in the latter.
With an eye towards follow-on opportunities, ODFW’s Tucker Jones asked what catches would look like if fishing was opened this weekend or on a weekday next week instead of the holiday, but learned that fish savings would be pretty minimal for a Saturday or Sunday fishery due to similar expected effort, though it would be more substantial if a Tuesday or whatnot was chosen, some 140 fish on the Bonneville Pool.
During public comment on the proposal, Columbia River sportfishing advisor Bill Monroe Jr. noted that a Monday opener would mean a lot of anglers wouldn’t get a chance at retaining a sturgeon, but in the end supported the staff recommendation.
Presidents’ Day weather is forecast to be cold and damp in the gorge, but if sturgeon fishing goes exactly according to projections, there would still be 38 percent of the guideline of 1,250 fish left in the Bonneville Pool and 65 percent of the guideline of 275 fish in The Dalles Pool after Monday.
After high effort and catches last year, managers decided to move the opener on both pools to deeper in winter when water temperatures are theoretically colder and the bite might be slower. A fact sheet out ahead of today’s meeting reported the Columbia was running 2 degrees warmer and a foot and half clearer than the five-year average below Bonneville.
With recent years’ increasing effort and continuing keeper closure on the big river below the dam, the DFWs are in a bit of a pickle about how to provide any sturgeon retention opportunity in the greater Lower Columbia.
“There are a lot of people who like sturgeon fishing and not a ton of fish available,” said WDFW’s Dr. Charlene Hurst.
This is how they’re answering that equation right now.
In related news, Columbia managers will meet NEXT Thursday, February 19, to set spring Chinook seasons on the lower river.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog gave the incorrect slot limit for The Dalles Pool sturgeon. It is 43 to 54 inches fork length
