Merwin Reservoir and the early bite of kokanee is drawing a lot of attention in the nice weather.
Last weekend, the Speelyai Bay boat ramp lot was full by 8:30 a.m., with trailers having to be parked in the overflow spot up the hill.
Most trollers were getting three or four fish, although some limits were being taken. Finding schools of kokanee this time of year can involve some searching.
Trollers were fishing shallow for the most part, anywhere from flatlining 160 feet behind the boat to using 2 ounces about 100 feet back.
Oregon’s flight on Saturday of the lower Columbia River tallied 26 boats, 54 Oregon bank rods and 32 Washington bank rods.
The Columbia is up a bit, flowing at 260,000 cubic feet per second at Bonneville Dam. The temperature is 42 to 43 degrees.
Angler checks from the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Westport to Portland, 24 bank rods with no spring chinook salmon or steelhead. (ODFW)
Mid-Columbia — Bonneville pool, 59 boaters with five legal sturgeon kept plus 156 sublegals released; 38 bank rods with one oversize and 19 sublegals released; three boaters with no walleye. (WDFW)
The Dalles pool, 17 boaters with two legal sturgeon kept plus eight sublegals released; 32 bank rods with no sturgeon; 71 boaters with 37 walleye kept; six bank rods with three walleye kept and one walleye released; seven boaters with two steelhead kept and six released; five bank rods with two steelhead released. (WDFW)
John Day pool, 21 boaters with two oversize and two sublegal sturgeon released; 56 bank rods with two legal sturgeon kept plus two legal, one oversize and 13 sublegals released; 40 boaters with 78 walleye kept and 17 released; 16 bank rods with one wild steelhead released. (WDFW)
Cowlitz — Eight boaters with four steelhead kept; 12 bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Kress Lake — Thirty-seven adult steelhead were stocked this week. (WDFW)
