SW WA, Lower Columbia, Hanford Reach Fishing Report (8-28-23)

THE FOLLOWING FISHING REPORTS ARE COURTESY BRYANT SPELLMAN AND TODD MILLER, WDFW

Preliminary Washington Columbia River mainstem and tributary sport sampling summary August 21-27, 2023

Fishery Reports: 

Lower Columbia River, Rocky Point/Tongue Point line upstream to Bonneville Dam – 858 salmonid boats and 242 Washington bank rods were tallied during Saturday’s (8/26) flight count. 

Mainstem Columbia River 

Salmon/Steelhead: 

Sec 1 (Bonneville) – 60 bank anglers kept 13 Chinook, one Chinook jack and released two steelhead. 9 boats/23 rods released one steelhead.  

Sec 2 (Camas/Washougal) – 8 boats/21 rods kept four Chinook and two Chinook jacks.

Sec 3 (I-5 area) – 4 boats/7 rods kept one Chinook.  

Sec 4 (Vancouver) – 68 bank anglers kept eight Chinook. 55 boats/122 rods kept 21 Chinook, one coho  and released one Chinook.

Sec 5 (Woodland) – 35 bank anglers kept five Chinook. 35 boats/83 rods kept 25 Chinook, one Chinook jack and released one coho. 

Sec 6 (Kalama) – 189 bank anglers kept 11 Chinook and one Chinook jack. 28 boats/75 rods kept 12 Chinook, one coho and released two Chinook and one steelhead. 

Sec 7 (Cowlitz) – 57 boats/141 rods kept 20 Chinook, one Chinook jack and released one coho. 

Sec 8 (Longview) – 49 bank anglers kept one Chinook and released four steelhead. 67 boats/143 rods  kept 12 Chinook. 

Sec 9 (Cathlamet) – 25 bank anglers had no catch.  

Columbia River Tributaries 

Salmon/Steelhead: 

Cowlitz River I-5 Br downstream – 22 bank rods had no catch.  

Cowlitz River Above the I-5 Br – Nine bank rods released one Chinook. 9 boats/29 rods kept 16 steelhead. 

Kalama River – Seven bank rods kept one Chinook and one steelhead. 

Lewis River – No report. 

Wind River – No report. 

Drano Lake – 23 bank rods had no catch. 94 boats/249 rods kept 99 Chinook, three Chinook jacks, two coho and released 15 Chinook and 17 steelhead. 

Klickitat River below Fisher Hill Bridge – One bank rod had no catch. 

Klickitat River above #5 Fishway – No report.

Hanford Reach Salmon Fishery

The Hanford Reach fall salmon sport fishery continued with a slow start. From August 21 through August 27, WDFW staff interviewed anglers from 27 boats (59 anglers) with 5 adult Chinook. Based on sampling, an estimated 11 adult Chinook were harvested from 162 angler trips (61 boats) in the first week of the fishery. In addition, 22 steelhead were caught and released. Fall chinook returns to the Columbia River usually start picking up in late August.

The season sample summary includes 213 angler trips (89 boats) with a total estimated harvest of 16 adult Chinook. In addition, 44 steelhead were estimated to be caught and released.