SW WA, Lower Columbia, Hanford, Yakima Fishing Report (9-5-23)

THE FOLLOWING FISHING REPORTS WERE FORWARDED BY BRYANT SPELLMAN AND TODD MILLER, WDFW

Preliminary Washington Columbia River mainstem and tributary sport sampling summary August 28-September 3, 2023

Lower Columbia River, Rocky Point/Tongue Point line upstream to Bonneville Dam – 1,467 salmonid boats and 376 Washington bank rods were tallied during Saturday’s (9/2) flight count. 

Mainstem Columbia River 

Salmon/Steelhead: 

Sec 1 (Bonneville) – 139 bank anglers kept 26 Chinook, two Chinook jacks and released one Chinook. 26 boats/73 rods kept 28 Chinook.  

Sec 2 (Camas/Washougal) – 12 boats/26 rods kept 14 Chinook and released one Chinook jack. Sec 3 (I-5 area) – One bank angler had no catch. 15 boats/38 rods kept five Chinook and one coho.  

Sec 4 (Vancouver) – 66 bank anglers kept two Chinook. 45 boats/108 rods kept 24 Chinook, one  Chinook jack, one coho and released three Chinook, one coho and one steelhead. 

Sec 5 (Woodland) – 124 bank anglers kept 33 Chinook and released one Chinook. 53 boats/134 rods  kept 58 Chinook, two coho and released 19 Chinook, two Chinook jacks and two coho. 

Sec 6 (Kalama) – 441 bank anglers kept 85 Chinook and released six Chinook. 53 boats/146 rods kept 42 Chinook, two Chinook jacks, five coho and released seven Chinook. 

Sec 7 (Cowlitz) – 76 boats/214 rods kept 115 Chinook, one Chinook jack, three coho and released three  Chinook and five coho. 

Sec 8 (Longview) – 129 bank anglers kept 16 Chinook, one Chinook jack, one coho and released one Chinook. 142 boats/325 rods kept 89 Chinook, five Chinook jacks, 14 coho and released five Chinook,  one Chinook jack, one coho and one steelhead. 

Sec 9 (Cathlamet) – 34 bank anglers kept five Chinook. 42 boats/105 rods kept 30 Chinook, one Chinook  jack, four coho and released one Chinook, two coho and one steelhead.  

Columbia River Tributaries 

Salmon/Steelhead: 

Cowlitz River I-5 Br downstream – 34 bank rods kept one steelhead. 2 boats/6 rods released 10  Chinook.  

Cowlitz River Above the I-5 Br – 13 bank rods kept two steelhead. 2 boats/8 rods had no catch.

Kalama River – Four bank rods had no catch. 

Lewis River – 17 bank rods kept three coho and released one Chinook jack. 8 boats/15 rods kept four  Chinook, three coho and released three Chinook and 13 Chinook jacks. 

Wind River – Two bank rods had no catch. 5 boats/10 rods kept one Chinook and released two Chinook.

Drano Lake – 31 bank rods kept four Chinook and released eight Chinook and one steelhead. 111 boats/330 rods kept 186 Chinook, five Chinook jacks, one coho and released 41 Chinook and two  Chinook jacks. 

Klickitat River below Fisher Hill Bridge – Nine bank rods kept one Chinook.

Klickitat River above #5 Fishway – No report.

Hanford Reach Fall Salmon Sport Fishery Update

The Hanford Reach fall salmon sport fishery from August 28 through September 3, WDFW staff interviewed anglers from 101 boats (267 anglers) with 32 adult Chinook. Based on sampling, an estimated 136 adult Chinook were harvested from 1,091 angler trips (450 boats) in the third week of the fishery. In addition, 22 steelhead were caught and released. Fall chinook returns to the Columbia Rivers should pick up in early September.

The season sample summary includes 1,290 angler trips (538 boats) with a total estimated harvest of 152 adult Chinook. In addition, 57 steelhead were estimated to be caught and released.

Yakima River Salmon Sport Fishery Weekly Update

The Yakima River fall salmon sport fishery began September 1. We sampled 24 anglers for an estimated 5 Jacks released.  Expect numbers to increase as the season progresses.