With Higher Than Expected Upper Columbia Sockeye Return, Decent Summer Chinook Run, Fishery Managers Add More Fishing Days
July 1st, 2022
Columbia River fishery managers from Oregon and Washington added 13 days of summer Chinook fishing below Bonneville Dam starting today, July 1 through Wednesday, July 13. The move comes as the sockeye return is now predicted to be more than double the preseason forecast.
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Spring Chinook Return Keeps Getter Better, Prompting Increased Bag Limits, Recreational Fishing Days; Tribes’ June Fishing Periods Approved
June 3rd, 2022
Following another run upgrade, fishery managers from Oregon and Washington adopted additional fishing opportunity for spring Chinook salmon in the mainstem Columbia River from the Tongue Point area near Astoria to the Oregon/Washington state line upstream of McNary Dam and increased the bag limit for Chinook to up to two adults per day.
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Another Spring Chinook Run Upgrade Brings 11 More Recreational Fishing Days, Commercial Tangle-Net Fishery
May 19th, 2022
With a second upgrade of returning upriver Columbia River spring chinook in hand, Washington and Oregon fisheries managers opened up more mainstem recreational fishing and approved a one-day mainstem commercial tangle net fishery.
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Columbia River Spring Chinook Run Upgrade Brings More Fishing Days Below Bonneville Dam; States Announce Summer, Fall Salmon, Steelhead Seasons
May 12th, 2022
With a decent run-size upgrade, should Columbia River fisheries managers allow spring Chinook fishing below Bonneville Dam through May, or let more fish pass upriver and then continue fishing in June when much of run has moved out of the lower Columbia?
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Tribes Did The “Heavy Lifting’ On Bringing Once Extinct Coho Back To Upper Columbia, Snake River Basin
May 12th, 2022
Historically about one million coho salmon returned annually to the Columbia River and were abundant throughout the upper Columbia River and Snake River watersheds. By the 1980s, the fish were gone from the basin interior – extirpated. But today, in several rivers above Bonneville Dam, the coho are back.
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2021 Spawning Survey: White Salmon River Fall Chinook Still Prefer Lower Three Miles Post-Dam Removal
May 5th, 2022
Condit Dam was removed from the White Salmon River in 2011, opening up 33 miles of new habitat for salmon and steelhead. A 2021 salmon spawning survey is offering a snapshot of recolonization post-dam removal for Chinook salmon.
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Spring Chinook Return Running Above Average As Lower Monumental Dam Fish Passage Monitored During Repairs
May 5th, 2022
The spring Chinook return to the Columbia River basin is heating up as fisheries and hydro managers monitor juvenile and adult salmon passage carefully at Lower Monumental Dam while spillbay repair work continues. And good angling has led to the recreational fishery closing a day early, though fish passage counts at Bonneville Dam are currently above average.
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Elwha River Fishing Closure Extended; Need More Salmon, Steelhead To Move Into Habitat Above Removed Dams
May 5th, 2022
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Olympic National Park and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced an extension to the recreational and commercial fishing closure for the Elwha River and its tributaries through June 30, 2023.
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Study Offers First Direct Evidence That Translocating Imperiled Pacific Lamprey From Lower Columbia To Interior Increased Productivity
April 27th, 2022
A new study provides the first direct evidence that translocations of Pacific Lamprey from lower Columbia River dams to the Snake River basin boosted larval abundance, increased juvenile production in the interior Columbia River and demonstrated successful migration to the Pacific Ocean.