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Pikeminnow Season Extended at Select Stations by Andy Walgamott Northwest Sportsman, September 23, 2025

Northern pikeminnow anglers will get 12 extra days to turn in fish at seven stations
on the Columbia-Snake system, Sport-Reward Fishery managers announced today.

Season will be extended October 1-12 at the Cathlamet, Rainier, Ridgefield, Washougal and The Dalles Stations on the big river and Boyer and Swallows Park on its primary tributary.

Station hours will vary; check pikeminnow.org for more information. WDFW is also expected to have a press release on the news.

It's at least the third time in the last six years that the season for some stations has gone into October, following on extensions in 2020 and 2021, though in 2024 it actually closed early after the $1.7 million reward fund was exhausted by September 25, a week before the typical end of season.

The bounty program pays fishermen from $6 to $10 per qualifying pikeminnow, a native salmon smolt predator that has an outsized impact on outmigrating young Chinook, coho and steelhead in the still-water reservoirs of the Columbia and Snake hydropower system. Specially tagged fish are worth $500.

Funding comes from the Bonneville Power Administration, and the season typically runs May 1-September 30 (this year saw three stations open in April).

Managers report that 132,255 pikeminnow that qualified for payment have been turned in in 2025 through September 21, with The Dalles Station leading the way with 25,306 of the fish.

This year's top earner has made $130,760 so far, a payday that's already the second highest in program history -- which stretches back to the early 1990s -- to last year's $164,260.

Related Pages:
Pikeminnow Reward Season to Open Early at Select Stations by Andy Walgamott, KTVB, 1/13/25
Get Paid for Fishing the Columbia and Snake. 2024's Top Earner Made $164,000 by Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald, 4/30/25
Anglers Descend on the Gorge to Get Piece of $1.7 Million Northern Pikeminnow Payouts by Henry Brannan, The Columbian, 4/16/25
Wanted: Pikeminnow that Prey on Salmon, Steelhead by Associated Press, KTVB, 5/9/7