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Steelhead Season to Open Sept. 1 on Snake by Staff Tri-City Herald, August 22, 2009

The Snake River opens for hatchery steelhead retention fishing Sept. 1, and summer steelhead apparently already are returning in large numbers.

"They are already beginning to pass through McNary and Snake River dam fish ladders in increasing numbers," said Paul Hoffarth, district fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"River temperatures are warm and will likely slow the bite. But as temperatures cool, the steelhead fishing will improve and Tri-Cities area anglers should be in for a terrific early fall fishery," he said.

Barbless hooks are required when fishing in the Snake River for steelhead, he said.

The lower Yakima River from Prosser Dam downstream to the Columbia River also will open for salmon fishing Sept. 1, with a night closure and anti-snagging rules in effect for all species.

Hoffarth said the fall chinook sport fishery in the Hanford Reach is under way and will continue through Oct. 22. Hoffarth says the catch is usually slow until mid-September. Anglers must release all steelhead caught in the Columbia River above the blue bridge.