Nine days of summer sturgeon retention in the Columbia River’s Bonneville pool were approved Wednesday by Washington and Oregon officials.
Anglers will be allowed to keep one sturgeon a day between 38 inches and 54 inches fork length on June 19 to 21, June 26 to 28 and July 3 to 5.
Sturgeon retention in the reservoir between Bonneville and The Dalles dams is split into a winter and summer season with the harvest guideline of 1,100 divided roughly equally.
However, in the winter season ending on March 2, only 155 sturgeon were retained, leaving a balance of 945, said Jeff Whisler, a biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Summer anglers in Bonneville pool in 2012 and 2013 averaged 225 sturgeon per day, but the catch rate in 2014 dropped to 81 fish per day.
Whisler said there are two likely reasons for the drop: windy weather during the open days in 2014 and implementation of 1.8-mile-long, May-through-July spawning sanctuary downstream of The Dalles Dam.
Fishing generally is best in the winter season in the west end of Bonneville pool, while the summer bite improves in the east end of the pool near The Dalles.
The states again approved the sanctuary, which extends 1.8 miles downstream from the east dock at the Port of The Dalles boat ramp straight across to a marker on the Washington shore.
Sturgeon retention remains open in The Dalles and John Day pools of the mid-Columbia.
Whisler said 48 sturgeon from a guideline of 100 had been taken through Sunday in The Dalles pool and 114 from a guideline of 500 from John Day pool.
