The lower end of the Willamette River’s Multnomah Channel is popular with Clark County anglers once the lower Columbia closes for spring chinook. (ALLEN THOMAS/The Columbian)
Spring chinook salmon returns in 2017 are forecast to be dismal in the Lewis River, poor in the Willamette River, but pretty good in the Kalama and Cowlitz rivers.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife this week released predictions of 700 spring salmon back to the North Fork of the Lewis, 3,100 to the Kalama and 17,100 to the Cowlitz River.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is anticipating 40,200 to the Willamette River.
Many Southwest Washington anglers fish in the lower Willamette, particularly Multnomah Channel, after lower Columbia catch allocations are filled and the season closes.
Multnomah Channel is the portion of the Willamette that flows on the west side of Sauvie Island.
In 2016, the Willamette run was 49,800 compared to a prediction of 70,000. Sport catch was 5,846 spring chinook, with another 144 wild fish dying as a result of release mortality.
The Willamette forecast includes 2,100 jack spring chinook, 27,100 4-year-olds and 10,800 5-year-olds.
“Both major adult age components encountered poor ocean conditions which generally results in reduced survival,’’ said Jeff Whisler, a biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “The Willamette return is forecasted to be lower relative to the 2016 return, similar to forecasts for other Columbia River spring chinook, like the upriver stocks and other lower river stocks.’’
The best news among the three lower Columbia tributaries in Washington is a forecast of 17,100 for the Cowlitz River.
In 2016, the return was 22,500, one of the largest adult returns since the early 1980s.
Cowlitz County’s Kalama River is anticipated to get 3,100 adult spring chinook back. While that would be down from 4,000 in 2016, if the forecast materializes it would be a good return for the relatively small stream.
The 2016 return was the largest since 2007.
Troubles continue in the North Fork of the Lewis River where the 2017 forecast of 700 adults would be only slightly better than the 2016 return of 500, and short of hatchery spawning needs.
Temperatures in the North Fork of the Lewis River are not typical of a spring chinook stream due to the three reservoirs upstream of the hatcheries.
Water temperatures in the 60s in October and November cause the spring chinook to smolt early and want to head to the ocean. Smolting is the physiological process that makes anadromous fish capable to adapting to saltwater.
Smolting causes spring chinook to use their energy stores, getting deficient in nutrition and susceptible to disease.
Renovations at the Lewis River hatcheries resulted in raceways that work well if the fish are not held too long.
To adapt to the change in the raceways, the department has gone to fall releases of spring chinook in hopes of getting better returns.
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