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Oregon DFW Announces Proposed 2009 Columbia River Summer, Fall Salmon

CLACKAMAS, Ore. -(FishNLand.com)- The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today announced recommendations for 2009 summer and fall salmon seasons on the Columbia River and at Buoy 10.

Public discussion for Columbia River summer and fall salmon seasons took place in March and early April during a series of Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings. The proposed seasons must still be approved by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission at its May 15 meeting.

Based on preseason forecasts, anglers can expect excellent coho fishing and good opportunities for summer and fall chinook. Under the proposed regulations, anglers at the popular Buoy 10 fishery will be able to keep up to three hatchery coho salmon after September 1 based on the largest predicted coho return to the Columbia River since 2001. Managers also expect returns of summer and fall chinook to be better than the last few years. In addition, the predicted return of 184,000 sockeye salmon is large enough for managers to allow the retention of sockeye concurrent with summer steelhead fisheries.

Details for the summer and fall mainstem Columbia River recreational fisheries include:

Buoy 10 upstream to Tongue Point

* Steelhead and coho salmon: open to adipose fin-clipped steelhead and adipose fin-clipped adult coho (> 16 inches) August 1 to December 31
* Fall chinook: open to chinook (fin-clipped or not) August 1-31 with a combined daily bag limit of two adults, only one of which may be a chinook. During September 1 – December 31, retention of chinook is prohibited but the combined daily adult bag limit may include up to three adipose fin-clipped coho.

Tongue Point upstream to Bonneville Dam

* Summer chinook: open to adult chinook (fin-clipped or not) from June 22 – July 5. Open to jack chinook (fin-clipped or not) from June 16 – July 31. The combined daily bag limit is two adults and five jacks.
* Coho salmon: open to adipose fin-clipped adult coho (> 16 inches) August 1 to December 31
* Fall chinook: open to adult chinook and jacks (fin-clipped or not) during August 1 – September 13 from the Tongue/Rocky Point line upstream to a line projected from the Warrior Rock Lighthouse (OR) through red buoy #4 to a marker on the lower end of Bachelor Island (WA). From this line upstream to Bonneville Dam, retention of chinook adults and jacks is allowed August 1 – December 31. In open areas/periods, the combined daily bag limit is two adults (only one of which may be a chinook) and five jacks.

Mainstem Columbia River above Bonneville Dam

* Coho: open August 1 – December 31 (all coho retained downriver of Hood River Bridge must be adipose fin-clipped)
* Summer chinook: open to chinook adults (fin-clipped or not) July 1-31, and to chinook jacks (fin-clipped or not) June 16 – July 31
* Fall chinook: open to chinook (fin-clipped or not) August 1 – December 31
* Combined daily bag limit is two adults and five jacks.

Sockeye Salmon

* Tongue Point to Oregon/Washington border: open concurrent with steelhead season through July 31
* All sockeye are considered adults and are included in the adult portion of the daily bag limit.

As in all Columbia River salmon seasons, anglers should be aware that seasons are managed on harvest quotas or Endangered Species Act limits and therefore may be modified or closed on very short notice. Anglers are advised to keep up to date with the latest regulations by going to ODFW’s web site or by calling (503) 647-6000.

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Oregon DFW Announces Proposed 2009 Columbia River Summer, Fall Salmon Seasons
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today announced recommendations for 2009 summer and fall salmon seasons on the Columbia River and at Buoy 10.

CLACKAMAS, Ore. -(FishNLand.com)- The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today announced recommendations for 2009 summer and fall salmon seasons on the Columbia River and at Buoy 10.

Public discussion for Columbia River summer and fall salmon seasons took place in March and early April during a series of Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings. The proposed seasons must still be approved by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission at its May 15 meeting.

Based on preseason forecasts, anglers can expect excellent coho fishing and good opportunities for summer and fall chinook. Under the proposed regulations, anglers at the popular Buoy 10 fishery will be able to keep up to three hatchery coho salmon after September 1 based on the largest predicted coho return to the Columbia River since 2001. Managers also expect returns of summer and fall chinook to be better than the last few years. In addition, the predicted return of 184,000 sockeye salmon is large enough for managers to allow the retention of sockeye concurrent with summer steelhead fisheries.

Details for the summer and fall mainstem Columbia River recreational fisheries include:

Buoy 10 upstream to Tongue Point

* Steelhead and coho salmon: open to adipose fin-clipped steelhead and adipose fin-clipped adult coho (> 16 inches) August 1 to December 31
* Fall chinook: open to chinook (fin-clipped or not) August 1-31 with a combined daily bag limit of two adults, only one of which may be a chinook. During September 1 – December 31, retention of chinook is prohibited but the combined daily adult bag limit may include up to three adipose fin-clipped coho.

Tongue Point upstream to Bonneville Dam

* Summer chinook: open to adult chinook (fin-clipped or not) from June 22 – July 5. Open to jack chinook (fin-clipped or not) from June 16 – July 31. The combined daily bag limit is two adults and five jacks.
* Coho salmon: open to adipose fin-clipped adult coho (> 16 inches) August 1 to December 31
* Fall chinook: open to adult chinook and jacks (fin-clipped or not) during August 1 – September 13 from the Tongue/Rocky Point line upstream to a line projected from the Warrior Rock Lighthouse (OR) through red buoy #4 to a marker on the lower end of Bachelor Island (WA). From this line upstream to Bonneville Dam, retention of chinook adults and jacks is allowed August 1 – December 31. In open areas/periods, the combined daily bag limit is two adults (only one of which may be a chinook) and five jacks.

Mainstem Columbia River above Bonneville Dam

* Coho: open August 1 – December 31 (all coho retained downriver of Hood River Bridge must be adipose fin-clipped)
* Summer chinook: open to chinook adults (fin-clipped or not) July 1-31, and to chinook jacks (fin-clipped or not) June 16 – July 31
* Fall chinook: open to chinook (fin-clipped or not) August 1 – December 31
* Combined daily bag limit is two adults and five jacks.

Sockeye Salmon

* Tongue Point to Oregon/Washington border: open concurrent with steelhead season through July 31
* All sockeye are considered adults and are included in the adult portion of the daily bag limit.

As in all Columbia River salmon seasons, anglers should be aware that seasons are managed on harvest quotas or Endangered Species Act limits and therefore may be modified or closed on very short notice. Anglers are advised to keep up to date with the latest regulations by going to ODFW’s web site or by calling (503) 647-6000.

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Oregon Fishery Managers Update Spring Salmon Catch Estimates
“So far the spring chinook catch is tracking very closely with what we expected,” said Chris Kern, assistant fisheries manager for ODFW’s Ocean Salmon and Columbia River Program.

CLACKAMAS Ore -(FishNLand.com)– Spring chinook sportfishing on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam is projected to continue through April 22 as planned, based on preliminary in-season catch estimates updated this week by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The estimate shows that through April 11 anglers caught (kept and released combined) a total of 14,200 spring chinook, compared to a preseason estimate of 15,400 fish through the same date.

“So far the spring chinook catch is tracking very closely with what we expected,” said Chris Kern, assistant fisheries manager for ODFW’s Ocean Salmon and Columbia River Program.

Fishery managers are projecting that by season’s end Columbia River salmon anglers will have caught a total of at least 22,100 spring chinook, which would be 95 percent or more of the quota available prior to a run update. Quotas are based on impact limits established to protect salmon listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The average catch rate this year is about the same as most years over the past decade, with about one fishing trip in eight producing a spring chinook. That is down from last year’s record catch rate of one chinook for about every five trips.

Since the beginning of the season anglers have made a total of 111,000 trips. ODFW is projecting that by the end of the season effort will exceed 141,000 trips, which represents a 37 percent increase over 2008. On April 4, ODFW survey crews counted 3,275 boats on the river, which broke the existing record of 3,260 boats counted on April 14, 2001.

So far, the run of spring chinook to Bonneville Dam appears to be running late, which has become common in recent years. In February fishery managers set the season based on a preseason run forecast of 300,000 upriver spring chinook, but reserved some of the allowable catch until after the run size can be updated. As of April 13, 1,186 spring chinook had passed through the ladders at Bonneville Dam, compared to 5,600 during the same period in 2008.

Kern noted that a reliable run update likely won’t be available until the first or second week in May. In the meantime, biologists expect fish to start crossing the dam in increasing numbers this week.

The spring chinook season is currently scheduled to be open on the Columbia below the Hayden Island power lines April 16-18. From the Hayden Island power lines to Bonneville, the season is scheduled to be open April 15-18 and again on Wednesday, April 22. Spring chinook fishing is currently scheduled to continue on the Willamette Thursday, Friday and Saturday through April 30.

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