State officials are proposing to allow resumption of fishing with barbed hooks for spring chinook salmon at Wind River and Drano Lake.
Barbless hooks have been required since 2013 at the two popular fishing spots in the Columbia River Gorge, part of the switch to barbless hooks for salmon and steelhead throughout the Columbia River drainage.
Cindy LeFleur, regional fish program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said it is possible the switch back to barbed hooks could come as soon as May 1, when regulations also change to allowing anglers to use two rods at the two locations.
In future years, barbed hooks would be allowed the entire March 16-June 30 season.
“The majority of the fish caught are hatchery spring chinook with few wild chinook or steelhead handled,” LeFleur said.
The spring fishery in the Wind River is fueled by Carson National Fish Hatchery, about 15 miles upstream of the mouth. Drano Lake’s spring fishing targets chinook heading to Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery, less than a mile up the Little White Salmon River.
The return to barbed hooks at Wind River and Drano Lake is part of several proposed changes for the lower Columbia and Columbia Gorge for the 2015-16 regulation pamphlet.
Among the others:
Lower Bonneville pool hand casting — Bank anglers fishing in Bonneville pool between Bonneville Dam and the Tower Island power lines in the spring would be limited to hand-casting their lines into the Columbia.
Boat fishing is not allowed for spring salmon between the dam and power lines. However, the bank fishery primarily near the mouth of Drano Lake has become popular and successful.
Some anglers use boats to set their lines several hundred feet from shore to improve their chances.
When the bank fishery opened many years ago, it was assumed the bank anglers would catch mainly spring chinook headed for Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery at Drano Lake.
But coded-wire tags and genetic sampling show the vast majority of the bank anglers’ catch outside Drano Lake are spring chinook headed for other waters.
This reduces the salmon available farther upriver, particularly in fisheries just downstream of John Day and McNary dams.
Drano-Klickitat — Barbed hooks also are proposed to be allowed Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 in Drano Lake and Sept. 1 through Dec. 31 on the Klickitat River from the mouth to Fisher Hill Bridge.
Both fisheries allow retention of marked and unmarked chinook and coho, targeting on hatchery-origin fish. From Fisher Hill Bridge upstream, barbless hooks still would be require to protect wild trout and wild steelhead.
Use of two poles at Drano Lake would be delayed until Oct.1 instead of Sept. 15, which would reduce the handling of summer steelhead.
White Salmon spring chinook — Retention of hatchery spring chinook would be allowed from the county road bridge downstream of the former Condit Dam powerhouse to the Northwestern Road Bridge from April through July.
Hatchery spring chinook stray into the area and are available for harvest.
Upper Bonneville pool limit — The bag limit starting Oct. 16 would be six fish, of which no more than three adult chinook, no more than two unmarked coho and no more than two hatchery steelhead from Hood River Bridge to The Dalles Dam.
The goal is to allow additional harvest of late stock hatchery adult coho near the mouth of the Klickitat River.
North Fork Lewis — Retention of wild fall chinook would be allowed in the North Fork of the Lewis from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31 from the mouth to Colvin Creek and from Sept. 15 to Oct. 31 and Dec. 16 to 31 from Colvin Creek to the power lines below Merwin Dam.
This allows wild chinook retention two weeks earlier when the fish are in better condition. The wild run in the North Lewis is expected to archive its spawning goal in 2015.
Washougal — The anti-snagging rule and night closure would be in effect from the Mount Norway to the Salmon Falls bridges starting Aug. 1 instead of Sept. 1.
Also proposed is increasing the closed waters from 200 feet up to 1,000 feet below the temporary weir when the weir is installed in the river.
Cowlitz — Two poles could be used for salmon from the Lexington Bridge upstream to the barrier dam from Jan. 1 through May 31 for spring chinook, from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30 for fall chinook and Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 for coho.
Added to existing rules, two poles would be allowed year-round for salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout from Lexington Bridge to the barrier dam to attempt to harvest more hatchery fish.
