Ocean salmon angling off the Washington and northern Oregon coast opens Friday, adding another option to a full fishing menu.
The ocean seasons are focused on chinook, as coho numbers, particularly on the Washington coast and in Puget Sound, are weak.
The quota for the Illwaco area is 18,900 coho, compared to 150,800 coho a year ago. It is the lowest quota since 1998. The chinook quota is 35,000, down from 64,000 in 2015.
“We expect a pretty good chinook fishery in the ocean this summer,’’ said Wendy Beeghely, an ocean salmon manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “However, we’ve put restrictions in place in an effort to protect coho.’’
The area between Cape Falcon, Ore., and Leadbetter Point at the northern tip of Long Beach Peninsula is scheduled to close on Aug. 31, but the season may close sooner if the quota is met.
Anglers can keep hatchery coho in the Cape Falcon-Leadbetter Point area, but must release all coho in the Westport, La Push and Neah Bay areas.
The daily limit out of the Columbia River ports is two salmon, but only one chinook.
Angler sampling from the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Tongue Point to Wauna power lines, 10 boaters with two adult chinook, two jack chinook and one steelhead kept plus two adult chinook released; 26 Oregon bank rods with two adult chinook, four steelhead and a sockeye kept plus one steelhead released. (ODFW)
Donwstream of Puget Island, 115 boaters with four adult chinook, one jack chinook, two sockeye and 17 steelhead kept plus nine adult chinook and two steelhead released; 29 bank rods with three steelhead kept and two released. (WDFWP
Cathlamet, 185 boaters with seven adult chinook, two jack chinook, five sockeye and 55 steelhead kept plus three adult chinook, one jack and 13 steelhead released; 56 bank rods with one adult chinook, one sockeye and 10 steelhead kept plus one steelhead released. (WDFW)
Westport, Ore. to Portland, 195 boaters with four adult chinook, three jack chinook, three steelhead and two sockeye kept plus 12 adult chinook, one jack chinook and one steelhead released; 69 Oregon bank rods with one steelhead and two sockeye kept. (ODFW)
Longview, 400 boaters with 26 adult chinook, three jack chinook, four sockeye and 32 steelhead kept plus 21 adult chinook and 11 steelhead released; 416 bank rods with three adult chinook, three sockeye and 37 steelhead kept plus three adult chinook, one sockeye and 10 steelhead released; 12 boaters with six legal, five oversize and 35 sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Cowlitz River mouth, 14 boaters with one adult and four steelhead kept plus one steelhead released. (WDFW)
Kalama, 148 boaters with 16 adult chinook, one jack chinook, 11 sockeye and three steelhead kept plus 20 adult chinook released; 235 bank rods with 10 adult chinook three sockeye and two steelhead kept plus 21 adult chinook and one sockeye released; four boaters with two legal and 25 sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Woodland, 281 boaters with 19 adult chinook, one jack chinook and two steelhead kept plus 17 adult chinook and three steelhead released; 231 bank rods with nine adult chinook, one jack chinook and two steelhead kept plus 18 adult chinook released. (WDFW)
Warrior Rock to Kelley Point, 445 boaters with 30 adult chinook, two sockeye and two steelhead kept plus 25 adult chinook and one jack chinook released; 184 bank rods with 15 adult chinook, one jack chinook, three sockeye and four steelhead kept plus 13 adult chinook released; seven boaters with one legal and 27 sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport tower, 76 bank rods with seven sockeye and two steelhead kept plus two adult chinook and one steelhead released. (WDFW)
Troutdale, Ore., 107 boaters with one adult chinook kept plus five adult chinook, one steelhead and one sockeye released; two boaters with no shad; six boaters with six walleye kept. (ODFW)
Camas-Washougal, 62 boaters with four adult chinook and one sockeye kept plus five adult chinook released; seven bank rods with no catch; one boater with no walleye. (WDFW)
North Bonneville, 54 boaters with five adult chinook kept and eight released; 100 bank rods with 12 adult chinook, one jack chinook, one sockeye and one steelhead kept plus two steelhead released; 12 boaters with 51 shad kept; 332 bank rods with 1,017 shad kept and three released. (WDFW)
Columbia Gorge (downstream of Bonneville Dam), 68 boaters with five adult chinook and two sockeye kept plus eight adult chinook released; 27 boaters with 127 shad kept; 37 Oregon bank rods with one adult chinook, one jack chinook and one steelhead kept plus five adult chinook released; 129 bank rods with 815 shad.
Mid-Columbia — Bonneville pool, 16 bank rods with one adult chinook released. (ODFW)
The Dalles pool, 39 boaters with 41 walleye kept and 30 released; two bank rods with eight sublegal sturgeon released; four boaters with four legal, seven oversize and 13 sublegal sturgeon released. (ODFW)
Cowlitz — Forty-three boaters with 33 steelhead, one adult spring chinook and one jack chinook; 79 bank rods with 34 adult spring chinook, two jack chinook and one steelhead. (WDFW)
East Fork Lewis — Eight bank rods with no catch (past two weeks of sampling).
Kalama — Twenty-five boaters with one steelhead and one adult spring chinook kept plus one steelhead released; 103 bank rods with 12 steelhead and two adult spring chinook kept plus two steelhead and one hatchery spring chinook released. (WDFW)
