These past few days likely are the peak of the fall chinook salmon run moving through the lower Columbia River. Adult chinook counts at Bonneville Dam have exceeded 30,000 the past two days.
Fishing regulations also make a big change downstream of the Lewis River beginning Tuesday, when no chinook retention is allowed. Today through Monday, anglers can keep fin-clipped chinook, fin-clipped coho and fin-clipped steelhead.
But starting Tuesday, chinook are off-limits downstream of the Lewis River until Oct. 1.
Between the Lewis River and Steamboat Landing in Washougal, the daily limit remains two adult salmon or steelhead, with any chinook allowed, but only fin-clipped coho and steelhead.
Upstream of Steamboat Landing and Marker No. 50 on the Oregon side, the daily limit is three adult salmon or steelhead, although only two fin-clipped coho or fin-clipped steelhead. (Three adult chinook, clipped or not, are allowed).
Coho angling at Buoy 10 has been disappointing. The most recent numbers are from Monday by Oregon samplers, who checked 54 boaters with one chinook and 21 coho kept, plus 21 chinook and seven coho released.
Angler checks from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (Washington sampling results not available by deadline):
Lower Columbia — Clatsop Spit to Tongue Point, 78 Oregon bank rods with 23 coho kept and 11 coho plus two fall chinook released. (ODFW)
Tongue Point to Portland, 832 boaters with 228 adult fall chinook, 13 jack chinook, 24 adult coho and two steelhead kept plus 11 adult fall chinook, three jack chinook, nine adult coho, one jack coho and two steelhead released; two boaters with two legal and four sublegal sturgeon released. (ODFW)
Westport, Ore., to Portland, two boaters with three walleye kept. (ODFW)
Troutdale, Ore., 279 boaters with 50 adult fall chinook and one jack chinook kept plus seven adult chinook and one adult coho released; 13 boaters with 14 walleye kept. (ODFW)
Columbia Gorge (downstream of Bonneville Dam), 82 boaters with 68 adult fall chinook and two jack chinook kept; 37 Oregon bank rods with eight adult chinook and two jack chinook kept. (ODFW)
