OLYMPIA — The fishery for summer chinook salmon reopened Friday and is scheduled to run through July 31 on the lower Columbia River.
A new, higher projection of this year’s summer chinook return allowed fishery managers from Washington and Oregon to reopen the fishery below Bonneville Dam after closing the season early last week.
Based on the latest projection, 74,100 adult summer chinook will return to the Columbia this year – up from 63,100 anticipated at the start of the season. As a result, the catch guideline for the recreational fishery has increased by 1,290 fish, said Ron Roler, a Columbia River fishery manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
“The higher run forecast allows us to reopen the fishery through the end of the summer season, when the fall fishing season gets underway,” Roler said. “That’s been our goal all along, so long as the fishery meets established conservation standards.”
The area of the Columbia River affected by the states’ action extends from the Astoria-Megler Bridge upriver to Bonneville Dam. As before, anglers can catch up to two adult hatchery chinook, two adult sockeye, or one of each. One hatchery steelhead may also be retained as part of two-fish daily limit.
Barbless hooks are required, and anglers must release any summer chinook with an intact adipose fin.
Washington state fishing rules are posted on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/
Information provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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