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Oregon, Washington Add 5 Days of Chinook Salmon Sportfishing on Columbia River by Bill Monroe The Oregonian, June 30, 2020

Bolstered by an unexpected surge in summer chinook salmon, nearly doubling the expected numbers at Bonneville Dam, Oregon and Washington decided Tuesday to allow more sportfishing in the Columbia River.

In a telephone meeting, managers adopted a five-day fishery for chinook salmon, from Saturday, July 4, through Wednesday, July 8.

The open area extends from Tongue Point upriver to the U.S. 395 bridge at Pasco, Washington.

The daily bag limit will be two hatchery chinook salmon.

Although sockeye numbers also are tracking slightly higher than predicted, sockeye salmon and summer steelhead will remain closed and both must be released.

Biologists met Monday and revised their preseason predictions of summer chinook from 38,000 to 65,000 adults entering the Columbia (after ocean fishing seasons). The run at Bonneville was considered half done Monday, with 32,424 fish counted.

Approximately 65% of the summer chinook are marked as hatchery fish.

Managers said they will review catches and incidental handling of sockeye next week before deciding whether to discuss additional fishing, which could include summer steelhead.

Related Pages:
Fisheries Managers Forecast 'Unprecedentedly Low' Summer Steelhead by George Plaven, East Oregonian, 5/22/17