Columbia pikeminnow reward program resumes Sunday

Anglers can begin fishing for cash on Sunday when the Columbia-Snake river northern pikeminnow sport-reward program opens for 2016.

The program continues until Sept. 30 and pays $5 for the first 25 northern pikeminnow, $6 for Nos. 26 through 200, and $8 for No. 201 and more. There also are tagged fish in the Columbia and Snake rivers worth $500 each, said Eric Winther, program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Pikeminnows must be at least 9 inches to earn the reward.

Pikeminnows eat millions of young salmon and steelhead migrating down the Columbia and Snake rivers annually.

In 2015, the top 20 anglers caught an average of about 4,000 pikeminnow each and averaged reward payments of $34,000. The top earner made $100,453, Winther said.

Anglers must register before they go fishing. There are 19 registration stations scattered between Cathlamet and Clarkston, including at Ridgefield Marina, the Port of Camas-Washougal, Beacon Rock State Park and Bingen Marina.

Winther will present a free clinic on how to catch pikeminnow will begin at 6 p.m. today at the Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2108 Grand Blvd.

For more details about the program, go online to www.pikeminnow.org.