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Sport Chinook Catch Already at 4,400 by Staff The Columbian, April 3, 2008

How much do anglers love their Columbia River spring chinook?

Well, there were 36,124 fishing trips in March with a kept catch of 4,441 and 680 salmon released, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

So although the Bonneville Dam count through Tuesday was only 199 total salmon, there are plenty of fish in the lower Columbia.

Sampling by Washington last week found a salmon either kept or released for every 5.4 boat rods.

That's an excellent rate and compares to a fish per 12.5 boat rods in 2007, 5.6 in 2006, 17.1 in 2005, 6.4 in 2004, 7.1 in 2003 and 4.7 in 2002, according to Joe Hymer of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Statistically, the best catch per effort came in the stretch of the river between about Davis Bar and the Portland International Airport tower.

Sunday, just at the Marine Park boat ramp in Vancouver, the state sampled 119 boats with 124 spring chinook kept and 11 released.

The commercials fished from 1 to 11 p.m. on Tuesday. Preliminary catch estimates indicate the net fleet landed about 700 to 1,000.

State officials will meet at 11 a.m. Monday to consider setting another commercial fishing period on Tuesday.

Angler checks and related information from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Lower Columbia -- Estuary, 700 boaters with 82 adult and one jack spring chinook kept plus 11 spring chinook released; four bank rods with no catch. (WDFW) 

Estuary, 20 boats with five spring chinook kept, eight Oregon bank rods with no salmon. (ODFW) 

Cathlamet, 94 boaters with 21 adult spring chinook kept and three released; 59 bank rods with one steelhead kept and one released. (WDFW) 

Longview to Portland, 321 boats with 156 spring chinook and one steelhead kept plus 18 spring chinook released; 30 boats with nine legal sturgeon kept and 196 sublegals released; 353 Oregon bank rods with two spring chinook and nine steelhead kept plus two spring chinook released. (ODFW) 

Longview, 838 boaters with 47 spring chinook and six steelhead kept plus six spring chinook released; 59 bank rods with three steelhead kept; nine bank rods with no sturgeon; four boaters with one sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW) 

Cowlitz River mouth, five boaters with one spring chiook kept. (WDFW) 

Kalama, 453 boaters with 30 spring chinook kept and five released; 71 bank rods with no salmon or steelhead; 12 boaters with 10 sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW) 

Woodland, 173 boaters with 24 spring chinook kept and four released; 54 bank rods with no salmon or steelhead. (WDFW) 

Vancouver, 388 boaters with 64 spring chinook kept and seven released; 188 bank rods with five spring chinook kept and two released; nine boaters with 10 sublegal sturgeon released; one bank rod with no sturgeon. (WDFW) 

Davis Bar to Portland airport tower, 877 boaters with 294 spring chinook kept and 40 released; four boaters with 17 sublegals released. (WDFW) 

Portland airport tower to upper end of Reed Island, 264 boaters with 47 spring chinook kept and 10 released; two bank rods with no catch; five boaters with no sturgeon. (WDFW)

Troutdale, 193 boats with 56 spring chinook kept and five released; two boats with no sturgeon. (ODFW)

North Bonneville, 38 boaters with eight spring chinook kept and one released; 166 bank rods with 11 spring chinook kept and two released; three bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW) 

Columbia Gorge (downstream of Bonneville Dam), 11 boats with two spring chinook kept and one released; 25 bank rods with no salmon; three boats and five bank rods with no sturgeon. (ODFW)