Warm water and low streamflows are making salmon and steelhead angling challenging on the lower Columbia River.
The water temperature at Bonneville Dam exceeded 73 degrees on Wednesday. Much of the fishing effort has been concentrated at either the mouth of the Cowlitz or mouth of the Lewis.
Washougal/East Fork — The Washougal is open from the Mount Norway Bridge to Salmon Falls Bridge from sunrise to 2 p.m.. Downstream of the Mount Norway Bridge is closed to fishing due to the hot weather.
The East Fork of the Lewis is open from sunrise to 2 p.m. from the top boat ramp at Lewisville Park to 400 feet downstream of Horseshoe Falls, except for closures around waterfalls. Downstream of the boat ramp also is closed due to the warm water temperatures.
o Merwin Reservoir has been planted with 1,033 rainbow trout averaging more than 5 pounds.
Angler checks from the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Astoria Bridge to Wauna power lines, 33 boaters with two summer chinook kept and one coho released. (ODFW)
Downstream of Puget Island, 36 boaters with 12 steelhead kept and one sockeye kept plus five steelhead released. (WDFW)
Cathlamet, 49 boaters with 21 steelhead kept and two released; 55 bank rods with one adult summer chinook and eight steelhead kept plus six steelhead released. (WDFW)
Westport, Ore., to Portland, 159 boaters with seven adult summer chinook, one jack chinook, 14 steelhead and four sockeye kept plus six steelhead released; 31 bank rods with no catch; eight boaters with eight legal and 20 sublegal sturgeon released. (ODFW)
Longview, 22 boaters with two adult summer chinook and six steelhead and one sockeye kept plus eight steelhead released; 193 bank rods with one adult chinook, one sockeye and 19 steelhead kept plus 23 steelhead released; six boaters with one legal and eight sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Cowlitz River mouth, 22 boaters with three steelhead kept and six released. (WDFW)
Kalama, 91 boaters with five adult chinook, two jack chinook six steelhead and two sockeye kept plus one adult chinook and eight steelhead released; 104 bank rods with 10 adult chinook and five steelhead kept plus two steelhead released; eight boaters with 30 legal, one oversize and 13 sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Woodland, 250 boaters with 79 adult chinook, 10 steelhead and three sockeye kept plus one chinook and four steelhead released; 116 bank rods with two adult summer chinook, two steelhead and one sockeye kept plus three steelhead released. (WDFW)
Warrior Rock to Kelley Point, 40 boaters with five adult chinook and two steelhead kept plus seven steelhead released; 81 bank rods with six adult summer chinook and two steelhead kept plus five steelhead released. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport tower, 61 bank rods with five steelhead kept and eight released. (WDFW)
Troutdale, Ore., 67 boaters with one adult chinook; 32 boaters with 26 walleye kept and two released; two boaters with four sublegal sturgeon released. (ODFW)
Camas-Washougal, 45 boaters with one adult chinook, one jack chinook and one steelhead; six boaters with three walleye kept and eight released. (WDFW)
North Bonneville, 36 bank rods with one adult summer chinook kept and three steelhead released. (WDFW)
Columbia Gorge (downstream of Bonneville Dam), 15 boaters with four adult summer chinook kept and one steelhead released.
Kalama — Six boaters with two steelhead kept; 33 bank rods with six steelhead kept and two released. (WDFW)
Drano Lake — Twenty-two boaters with one adult chinook and two steelhead kept plus two adult chinook and 12 steelhead released. (WDFW)
