The Northwest River Forecast Center is projecting a big increase in streamflows at Bonneville Dam between now and Monday, then a fairly steep drop again early next week.
Increasing and dropping the flow does not improve spring chinook fishing. The streamflow has been about 250,000 cubic feet per second at the dam and is projected to reach 330,000 by Sunday.
When streamflows top 300,000 cubic feet per second, the river gets so fast that trolling herring downstream gets tough.
The projection is a guideline, not gospel, but not a good sign for sportsmen.
Water clarity is improving downstream of the mouth of the Willamette, which still is flowing more than double the norm. The Willamette streamflow on Wednesday afternoon was 73,600 cubic feet per second compared to an average for the date of 37,000.
Sampling by Washington tallied a chinook kept or released last week per 14.6 rods with success best in the Vancouver and Camas areas and worst from Woodland downstream.
Through Sunday, there have been 42,600 angler trips with a catch of 1,176 chinook kept and 279 released. Among those chinook, 790 are upper Columbia fish. The early-season guideline is 12,700 upper Columbia chinook kept plus release mortalities.
There also have been 554 steelhead kept and 261 released.
The cumulative count for the spring at Bonneville Dam is 33 spring chinook.
Walleye fishing has been very good in The Dalles pool and good in John Day pool of the Columbia River Gorge.
Horseshoe Lake in Woodland was planted with 3,000 brown trout last week.
Angler checks from the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Estuary, 83 boaters with four spring chinook and two steelhead kept; eight bank rods with no salmon or steelhead; three bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Tongue Point to Wauna power lines, 96 boaters with six spring chinook kept. (ODFW)
Cathlamet, 93 boaters with three adult spring chinook and one steelhead kept; 29 bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Longview, 197 boaters with four steelhead kept; 118 bank rods with three adult chinook and six steelhead kept plus three steelhead released; nine boaters with one legal sturgeon kept and six sublegals released. (WDFW)
Longview to Portland, 1,107 anglers with 59 spring chinook and seven steelhead kept plus 10 chinook and one steelhead released; 802 Oregon bank rods with three chinook and 31 steelhead kept plus two spring chinook and two steelhead released; 19 boaters with one legal sturgeon kept plus one legal sturgeon, one oversize and six sublegals released. (ODFW)
Kalama, 137 boaters with two spring chinook kept; 61 bank rods with one spring chinook released; nine boaters with seven sublegal sturgeon released; four bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Woodland, 100 boaters with three spring chinook and one steelhead kept; 217 bank rods with two spring chinook kept and four steelhead released; three boaters with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Warrior Rock to Vancouver, 740 boaters with 54 spring chinook and one steelhead kept plus 14 spring chinook and one steelhead released; 194 bank rods with four spring chinook and two steelhead kept; three boaters with three sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport, 652 boaters with 51 spring chinook kept and six released; five boaters with three sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Troutdale, 121 boaters with three spring chinook kept. (ODFW)
Camas-Washougal, 188 boaters with eight spring chinook kept and five released; 25 bank rods with no salmon or steelhead; 17 boaters with one legal sturgeon and two sublegals released; four bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Columbia Gorge, seven boaters with no salmon or steelhead; 91 bank rods with no salmon or steelhead; seven bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Mid-Columbia — The Dalles pool, 30 boaters with 32 sublegal sturgeon released; 60 bank rods with nine sublegal sturgeon released; two boaters with two hatchery steelhead and seven wild steelhead released; 19 bank rods with four wild steelhead released; 60 boaters with 97 walleye kept and three released. (WDFW)
John Day pool, 38 boaters with two legal sturgeon kept plus two oversize and 16 sublegals released; 100 bank rods with eight legal sturgeon kept plus four oversize and 19 sublegals released; 56 boaters with 22 walleye kept and 13 released; three boaters with six bass released. (WDFW)
Cowlitz — Fifty boaters with five adult spring chinook and 19 steelhead kept plus three steelhead released; 93 bank rods with one spring chinook and 12 steelhead kept plus two steelhead released. (WDFW)
Kalama — Fourteen bank rods with four steelhead kept and six released. (WDFW)
Lewis– One boater and two bank rods with no salmon or steelhead. (WDFW)
North Fork Lewis — Eleven bank rods with no salmon or steelhead. (WDFW)
Klineline Pond — Thirty-two bank rods with two brown trout kept. (WDFW)
