Here’s a sure sign that winter is nearly over: The first spring chinook salmon has been counted passing Bonneville Dam.
The fish was tallied on Sunday. The year-to-date count at Bonneville is one spring chinook, one sockeye and 711 steelhead.
The water temperature at Bonneville is 41 degrees and outflow at the dam is 235,000 cubic feet per second.
A spring chinook also has returned to Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery and several have been caught by anglers from the Willamette River at Oregon City.
