Spring Chinook Season on Lower Columbia Extended

www.dfw.state.or.us

(CLACKAMAS, Ore.) - Last week’s high flows and poor water conditions continued to hamper spring chinook fishing success on the lower Columbia River, prompting fishery managers to extend the current season four more days.

The spring chinook season was scheduled to close tomorrow, but Oregon and Washington fishery managers meeting today decided to keep the fishery open through Tuesday, April 19 to give anglers a chance to harvest more of the 3,100 upriver spring chinook remaining on the harvest quota. The two states also indicated that further extensions in the lower river would be unlikely prior to a formal run update sometime in May.

“It’s been a difficult year so far for both fishers and managers,” said Chris Kern, ODFW assistant Columbia River fisheries manager. “Poor water conditions are keeping catch rates low, while fish passage at Bonneville Dam is well behind expectations, meaning we need to be cautious going forward.”

As of April 13, 864 adult spring chinook have been counted at Bonneville Dam. The fish count at Bonneville Dam is one of the pieces of information used by managers to monitor and estimate the final run size.

The river will remain open through Tuesday, April 19 from Buoy 10 to Rooster Rock State park for both bank and boat anglers and from Roster Rock to Bonneville Dam for bank fishing only. The daily bag limit continues to be 2 adult salmon/steelhead in combination, of which only 1 may be an adult chinook.

Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife www.dfw.state.or.us