Chinook fishing at Buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia River is improving daily, as is typical during the first half of August.
Angler sampling from Tuesday is available from both sides of the Columbia.
At the Washington ports, 97 anglers were sampled with 22 chinook kept and no coho. On the Oregon side, the numbers were better, with 301 anglers sampled with 92 chinook and three coho kept plus 27 chinook released.
The tides at Buoy 10 also have improved, with high water in the mornings and a soft ebb.
No surprise, chinook angling upstream of Buoy 10 hasn’t dialed up much yet.
Washington and Oregon estimated for the first week of August there were 5,151 angler trips with 164 adult chinook kept plus 422 steelhead kept and 319 released.
Reports of good kokanee fishing at Merwin Reservoir continue for anglers who use down riggers and can get down to 50 to 55 feet deep.
Angler sampling from the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Buoy 10, 2,361 anglers with 247 adult fall chinook and 12 coho kept plus 87 adult chinook and nine coho released. (ODFW)
Tongue Point to Portland, 154 boaters with three adult fall chinook and five steelhead kept plus three steelhead released. (ODFW)
Downstream of Puget Island, 16 boaters with one adult chinook and six steelhead kept plus four steelhead released; three bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Cathlamet, 37 boaters with one adult chinook and six steelhead kept plus four steelhead released; 48 bank rods with three steelhead kept and two released. (WDFW)
Longview, 147 boaters with six steelhead kept and 13 released; 202 bank rods with one adult chinook and 14 steelhead kept plus one adult chinook, one jack chinook and two steelhead released; six boaters with six legal and 10 sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Cowlitz River mouth, 15 boaters with two steelhead kept. (WDFW)
Kalama, 88 boaters with five steelhead kept and six released; 265 bank rods with 16 adult chinook and 11 steelhead kept plus one jack chinook and eight steelhead released; seven boaters with 20 legal, one oversize and 16 sublegals released. (WDFW)
Woodland, 72 boaters with one steelhead kept and one released; 205 bank rods with three adult chinook, one jack chinook and 11 steelhead kept plus 12 steelhead released. (WDFW)
Warrior Rock to Kelley Point, 85 boaters with three adult chinook and seven steelhead kept plus four steelhead released; 98 bank rods with five adult chinook and seven steelhead kept plus four steelhead released; two boaters with seven legal, two oversize and 11 sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport tower, nine boaters with no catch; 15 bank rods with two steelhead released. (WDFW)
Troutdale, Ore., 59 bank rods with four adult chinook kept plus one jack chinook and one steelhead released; 43 boater with 26 walleye kept plus two walleye released. (ODFW)
Camas-Washougal, 34 boaters with one steelhead kept; two bank rods with no catch; 30 boaters with 15 walleye kept and nine released. (WDFW)
North Bonneville, four boaters with one steelhead released; 60 bank rods with three steelhead kept and six released. (WDFW)
Columbia Gorge (downstream of Bonneville Dam), 19 boaters with four adult chinook, one jack chinook and two steelhead kept; 64 Oregon bank rods with one adult chinook, one jack chinook and three steelhead kept. (ODFW)
Mid-Columbia — Bonneville pool, three bank rods with one jack chinook and one steelhead released. (WDFW)
The Dalles pool, two boats and four bank rods with no salmon or steelhead; 26 boaters with 28 walleye kept and 14 walleye released. (ODFW)
Cowlitz — Fifty-one boaters with 47 steelhead; 42 bank rods with 14 steelhead kept and one adult chinook released. Most of the catch is from Mission Bar to the salmon hatchery, although some steelhead are being caught by boaters near the mouth of the river.
Kalama — Forty-two bank rods with four steelhead and one chinook kept plus one steelhead released; 15 boaters with three steelhead kept. (WDFW)
Lewis — Eight bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
East Fork Lewis — Two bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Wind — Two bank rods with one steelhead released; two boaters with no catch. (WDFW)
Drano Lake — Nine bank rods with no catch; 232 boaters with 17 adult chinook and 80 steelhead kept plus 88 steelhead released. Boaters using downriggers are trolling lures for chinook, while anglers at anchor using bobbers and dyed prawns are catching steelhead. (WDFW)
