Lower Columbia Reopening For Springers; Steelhead Limit Reduced

Columbia spring Chinook managers approved reopening the lower river May 21-23 and June 1-15, but also reduced the hatchery steelhead limit below I-5 to one a day during a joint-state hearing this afternoon.

Springers will be fair game by boat and bank from the Tongue-Rocky Point line all the way up to Bonneville Dam, but the earlier Cowlitz mouth closure remains in place.

Daily limit is two adult hatchery salmonids, but only one Chinook and only one steelhead.

The steelhead rule change takes effect May 21.

ODFW and WDFW salmon managers also OKed a pair of Saturday-Sunday fisheries in what is known as Zone 6, the waters from Bonneville Dam to the Oregon-Washington border east of McNary Dam. That stretch will be open May 22-23 and May 29-30 under the same bag.

The news follows yesterday’s upriver runsize update that upgraded this year’s return of springers headed to Idaho and other inland rivers to 87,000, up from the preseason forecast of 75,200.

And it comes as just 448 Skamania steelhead have been tallied at Bonneville, a figure described as “the lowest count to date” of the unclipped stock since the dam was built.

Managers model a kept catch of 2,374 Chinook below Bonneville, including 2,091 upriver fish; and 231 in the gorge pools.

Under the new run expectation, anglers are expected to catch 89 percent of the upriver springer quota available below the dam and 96 percent of those available in the gorge pools.

It also would appear to provide room for a Washington-Snake reopener, but that’s a determination the regional office in Spokane will make.

During the hearing, there was some discussion about reopening springers as early as this Thursday and also about opening Memorial Day Weekend instead of this one. The latter would have “cost” six days of early June fishing, it was estimated, and gained less traction than the former.

“I like optimizing opportunity while keeping our conservation mandates in hand,” said ODFW’s Tucker Jones.

But it too was dropped, given the challenge involved in being able to monitor 144 miles of river on relatively shorter notice.

However, managers are planning to hold another hearing next Tuesday afternoon after next week’s runsize update to see if there might be additional chances to fish, as well as get an update on just how this weekend goes.

“People will really appreciate fishing up to Bonneville in a boat,” said Columbia sportfishing advisor Jesse Vassar during the call.

Conditions are looking good. The Columbia has been running at an average of 223,000 cubic feet per second in recent days, well below the five-year average of 363,000 cfs, while water temps are a tick above average at 57 degrees versus 56 over the past half decade. Visibility is also running at more than twice normal, 6.8 feet versus 3.5 feet.

Harry Barber, another advisor, noted that the early June opportunity would dovetail into the June 16 start of the summer Chinook season, providing weeks worth of continuous fishing.

Still, there were concerns raised by upriver interests.

After some initial audio problems, Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Chris Sullivan was able to get on the call to say it was worth noting that multiple hatcheries in his state weren’t meeting broodstock goals, forcing local fisheries to either shut down or be strictly limited this season. He said it was “difficult to shoulder the broodstock burden in these low run years.”

But he appreciated that downstream managers were being cognizant of Snake River wilds, which appear to be tracking close to a management threshold. According to a fact sheet for today’s meeting, the approved fisheries were “projected to remain within the allowable catch balance and allowable impact rate” if those fish come in as less than 10 percent of the upriver-bound run.

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

Following a run upgrade, fishery managers from Oregon and Washington adopted additional fishing days for recreational spring Chinook salmon in the Columbia River today during a joint state hearing.

This additional opportunity is based on a projected return of 87,000 adult upriver spring Chinook to the Columbia River mouth, which exceeds the preseason forecast of 75,200 adults. The larger return provides additional post-update harvest opportunity both below and above Bonneville Dam. 

However, given the low passage of Skamania stock steelhead over Bonneville Dam to-date, managers elected to reduce the steelhead bag limit to one fish starting this Friday and continuing through the spring management period which ends June 15.  A one steelhead bag limit was also previously adopted for the summer management period which begins June 16.

The season dates and bag limits for the additional fishing days are:

Below Bonneville Dam

• Season: Friday May 21 through Sunday May 23, and June 1-15
• Bag limit: Two adult hatchery salmonids (Chinook or steelhead) per day, but only one may be a Chinook and only one may be a steelhead.
• Open area: Tongue Point/Rocky Point line upstream to the Bonneville Dam deadline (boat and bank), except salmonid angling from a boat is prohibited in the spring salmonid boat-angling area closure adjacent to the Cowlitz River mouth (map available at https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/columbia-zone).

Bonneville Dam to Oregon/Washington Border

• Season: Saturday May 22, Sunday May 23, Saturday May 29, and Sunday May 30
• Open area: Tower Island power lines (approximately six miles below The Dalles Dam) upstream to Oregon/Washington border, plus the Oregon and Washington banks between Bonneville Dam and the Tower Island power lines.
• Bag limit: Two adult hatchery salmonids (Chinook or steelhead) per day, but only one may be a Chinook and only one may be a steelhead.

Fishery managers scheduled another hearing for 3 p.m. next Tuesday, May 25 to consider the latest information on catch rates and determine if additional fishing days can be added.

For the latest on Columbia River fishing regulations, visit https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/columbia-zone

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