collapse

Advertisement


Author Topic: WDFW News Release: Summer chinook, sockeye fisheries to close on portions of Col  (Read 1493 times)

Offline jackelope

  • Administrator
  • Trade Count: (+29)
  • Legend
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2007
  • Posts: 50361
  • Location: Duvall, WA
  • Groups: jackelope
WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

July 15, 2011

Fishing for summer chinook, sockeye salmon
to close July 18 on sections of Columbia River

OLYMPIA - After a month of red-hot catch rates, sport fishing for adult summer chinook and sockeye salmon will close Monday (July 18) on various sections of the Columbia River to hold harvest levels within allowable limits.

The summer chinook fishery will close just after midnight Sunday from Bonneville Dam downstream, under an agreement reached today by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon. Sockeye fishing will close at the same time downstream from the Highway 395 bridge in Pasco.

Anglers can, however, still retain hatchery steelhead and jack chinook salmon, measuring 12-24 inches, in those sections of the river.

Fishery managers agreed to close fishing for adult summer chinook and sockeye in those areas two weeks earlier than expected after reviewing catch numbers to date.

"This is some of the best fishing we've seen in recent years for both summer chinook and sockeye," said Cindy LeFleur, Columbia River policy manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). "This year's catch has exceeded expectations, and is pushing up against our harvest guidelines."

Through July 14, anglers fishing below Bonneville Dam had caught and kept 5,285 summer chinook salmon - twice as many as last year - and released 2,553 others. They also caught 1,564 sockeye and released 390 others, the highest number of sockeye taken by anglers since at least 1980.

LeFleur said the closure was necessary to keep the catch within allowable harvest limits.

"For summer chinook salmon, we have to make sure we meet our conservation goals and leave enough fish for fisheries further upstream," she said. "Sockeye salmon bound for the Snake River are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act and have catch limits of their own."

Ongoing summer chinook fisheries above Bonneville Dam and sockeye fishing above the Highway 395 bridge in Pasco will not be affected by the closures scheduled further downstream.

According to current projections, 80,000 summer chinook and 181,500 sockeye are expected to return to the Columbia River. The summer chinook run will be the second largest since 1980.

Joe Hymer, a WDFW fish biologist, noted that hatchery-reared steelhead are still providing good fishing on the lower Columbia River and that fishing for fall chinook will open Aug. 1.

"The fall chinook run is also looking very strong," Hymer said. "Salmon fisheries are far from over on the Columbia River this year."   



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:fire.:

" In today's instant gratification society, more and more pressure revolves around success and the measurement of one's prowess as a hunter by inches on a score chart or field photos produced on social media. Don't fall into the trap. Hunting is-and always will be- about the hunt, the adventure, the views, and time spent with close friends and family. " Ryan Hatfield

My posts, opinions and statements do not represent those of this forum

 


* Advertisement

* Recent Topics

1 week till bear killin time! by CasterlyRock
[Today at 12:03:40 AM]


Tease 'l' by Ricochet
[Yesterday at 08:51:31 PM]


Stealth Cam QV20 by Kingofthemountain83
[Yesterday at 07:42:11 PM]


Taxidermy Issues....HELP! by Magnum_Willys
[Yesterday at 04:38:49 PM]


More Kings! by highside74
[Yesterday at 03:37:22 PM]


2025 Canning by 3boys
[Yesterday at 02:51:04 PM]


Bino Bandit by O. Nerka
[Yesterday at 02:30:42 PM]


Waterfowl Taxidermist by kodiak 907
[Yesterday at 11:37:57 AM]


Gots me a new/old rockchuck rifle coming by JDHasty
[Yesterday at 11:25:33 AM]


FirstLite at Big J's by BigJs Outdoor Store
[Yesterday at 11:16:24 AM]


Mt. St. Helens Goat by hunterednate
[Yesterday at 09:58:52 AM]


Are you using a Diesel Fuel Additive and if so which one? by JBar
[Yesterday at 09:09:51 AM]


AUCTION: Custom knife by Alden Cole by Dan-o
[Yesterday at 08:43:32 AM]


newbie bear field dressing and hide by ghosthunter
[Yesterday at 08:03:45 AM]


Grouse in Vail? by hunter399
[Yesterday at 07:28:12 AM]


2 Dozen CRD's for sale by Badhabit
[July 24, 2025, 09:52:44 PM]

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2025, SimplePortal