Salmon fishing was well below expectations both off the southern Washington-northern Oregon coast and at Buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia River this summer. Anglers in the lower Columbia River will find out soon if catches disappoint between Tongue Point and Bonneville Dam, or not.
“Catch rates are improving quickly, as expected,’’ biologist John North of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife told a Washington-Oregon joint state fisheries hearing on Wednesday.
Catch estimates for Aug. 1 through 28 were 3,770 chinook and 1,035 steelhead from 37,754 angler trips, he said.
Coho and steelhead returns clearly are way down. But fall chinook passage at Bonneville Dam appeared on track for the forecasted return of nearly 628,000 — until Monday.
However, Monday’s and Tuesday’s counts combined were just 6,611 adult chinook, the lowest counts for those days since 1995.
North said the water discharge at Bonneville Dam dropped about 10 percent to 15 percent briefly, then came back to normal.
While no one knows for sure, that fluctuation might have affected passage, he said.
Joe Hymer, a biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said on Wednesday he thinks fish passage will turn around.
“Based on last night’s commercial landings and last couple of days sport catch on the lower Columbia main stem, plus the weather change, dams counts should ramp up quickly within the next few days.’’ he said.
About 50 percent of the fall chinook run typically has passed Bonneville Dam by Sept. 8 to 10.
Here are two non-salmon notes:
• Goose Lake in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest between Carson and Trout Lake has been stocked with 2,130 chunky cutthroat trout. The trout average about 1.2 pounds and should make for good weekend fishing.
• Swift Reservoir is 25 feet below full pool. If the water drops much more, launching boats at Swift Forest Park ramp becomes difficult.
Angler sampling from the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Buoy 10, Washington on Monday, 157 rods with 18 chinook and 30 coho; Washington on Tuesday, 274 rods with 24 chinook and 60 coho; Oregon on Monday, 218 rods with 23 chinook and 42 coho; Oregon on Tuesday, 264 rods with 63 chinook and 73 coho.
Cathlamet, 151 boaters with 23 adult chinook and one jack chinook kept plus one adult chinook released; 26 bank rods with one steelhead kept. (WDFW)
Longview, 239 boaters with 34 adult chinook, three jack chinook, three steelhead and one coho kept plus one adult chinook released; 132 bank rods with three adult chinook and four steelhead kept plus one adult chinook and one steelhead released. (WDFW)
Cowlitz River mouth, 115 boaters with 18 adult chinook, one jack chinook, three steelhead and one adult coho kept plus one steelhead released. (WDFW)
Kalama, 145 boaters with 50 adult chinook kept plus one adult chinook and one adult coho released; 274 bank rods with 52 adult chinook and two steelhead kept plus one adult chinook released. (WDFW)
Woodland, 179 boaters with 21 adult chinook, two steelhead and one adult coho kept plus three adult chinook; 260 bank rods with 24 adult chinook, one jack chinook and one steelhead kept plus two adult chinook and two steelhead released. (WDFW)
Warrior Rock to Kelley Point, 159 boaters with 30 adult chinook, two jack chinook, one steelhead and one coho jack kept plus one adult chinook released; 109 bank rods with nine adult chinook and one jack chinook kept. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport, 57 boaters with one adult chinook kept and one steelhead released; 18 bank rods with three steelhead kept and one released; three boaters with one walleye kept. (WDFW)
Camas-Washougal, 101 boaters with six adult chinook and one steelhead kept; seven boaters with three walleye kept and three released; two bank rods with no walleye. (WDFW)
North Bonneville, 29 boaters with one adult chinook kept; 124 bank rods with four adult chinook and five steelhead kept. (WDFW)
Mid-Columbia — Bonneville pool, 54 anglers with 16 adult chinook kept and two chinook released. (WDFW)
Beginning today, anglers between Bonneville and McNary dams are limited to one hatchery steelhead a day. The restriction does not include tributaries.
Cowlitz — Thirty-eight boaters with one adult chinook and 13 steelhead kept plus two adult chinook released; 49 bank anglers with one adult chinook and six steelhead kept plus three chinook released.
Most of the fish are being caught between the hatcheries, although boaters are catching some chinook and steelhead near the river mouth. (WDFW)
Drano Lake — Fifteen boaters with six adult chinook and one steelhead kept plus one chinook released. (WDFW)
