Washington and Oregon on Wednesday tweaked the lower Columbia salmon-fishing rules, agreeing to allow retention of hatchery chinook today through Sept. 22 downstream of Warrior Rock.
Biologist John North of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the eight-day extension is expected to kill about 800 chinook.
The daily limit will be two fish, but only one hatchery chinook and one hatchery steelhead.
That is projected to bring the total sport harvest to 21,200 chinook at Buoy 10 and 27,695 between Tongue Point and Bonneville Dam.
Last weekend, during the hatchery-chinook-only period downstream of Warrior Rock, only 17 percent of the adult chinook were fin-clipped and could be retained.
State, federal and tribal biologists on Monday downgraded the fall chinook run to 860,300, about a 10 percent decrease from the original forecast of 960,200, said Jeff Whisler, chairman of the Columbia River Technical Advisory Committee.
Retention of wild fall chinook continues to be allowed daily in the Columbia River upstream of Warrior Rock, which is at the downstream end of Sauvie Island near St. Helens, Ore. Two adult chinook are allowed.
The coho forecast for upstream of Bonneville Dam has been downgraded from the original 47,000 to 35,000. The Group A steelhead run to Bonneville Dam has been downgraded from the original 230,400 to 123,400, said North.
Commercial fishing — Gillnetting resumes Sunday night.
The states adopted commercial fishing seasons of 8 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday and 8 p.m. Sept. 22 to 6 a.m. Sept. 23 between Warrior Rock and Beacon Rock. Netting from Beacon Rock to the river mouth was approved from 8 p.m. Sept. 28 to 6 a.m. Sept. 29.
North said the net fleet is expected to catch 7,000 to 9,000 chinook on Sept. 18-19, 5,000 to 6,000 on Sept. 22-23, and 2,500 to 3,500 chinook on Sept. 28-29.
Gillnetting also is planned in October depending on September catches and future run-size updates.
Angler checks from the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Buoy 10 to Tongue Point, 614 boaters with 61 chinook and 122 coho kept plus 18 chinook and 54 coho released. (ODFW)
Downstream of Puget Island, 11 boaters with one adult fall chinook, two jack chinook, one adult coho and one steelhead kept plus one jack chinook released; three bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Cathlamet, 15 boaters with five jack chinook released. (WDFW)
Longview, 50 boaters with five adult chinook released and one jack coho kept; 38 bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Cowlitz River mouth, 16 boaters with 13 adult chinook released. (WDFW)
Kalama, 74 boaters with four adult chinook and two adult coho kept plus nine adult chinook released; 21 bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Woodland, 86 bank rods with one adult chinook kept and two released; 37 boaters with two adult chinook and two adult coho kept plus 10 adult chinook and one steelhead released. (WDFW)
Warrior Rock to Kelley Point, 328 boaters with 73 adult chinook, eight jack chinook, one adult coho and two jack coho kept plus two jack chinook and one adult coho released; 16 bank rods with two adult chinook kept. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport, three bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Troutdale, Ore., 268 boaters with 38 adult chinook and two jack chinook kept plus one adult chinook and two jack chinook released; six boaters with four walleye kept. (ODFW)
Camas-Washougal, 90 boaters with 35 adult chinook, one jack chinook and one coho adult kept plus two adult chinook and one jack chinook released; two boaters with three legal sturgeon released; five boaters with no walleye. (WDFW)
North Bonneville, 17 bank rods with one adult chinook kept. (WDFW)
Columbia Gorge (downstream of Bonneville Dam), 199 boaters with 110 adult chinook, 12 jack chinook, two adult coho and one steelhead kept plus two adult chinook and one steelhead released; 46 Oregon bank rods with two adult chinook kept and two steelhead released. (ODFW)
Mid-Columbia — Bonneville pool, 327 boaters with 188 adult chinook, 24 jack chinook and three adult coho kept plus 32 chinook released; 43 bank rods with one adult chinook and one steelhead kept. (ODFW)
The Dalles pool, 232 boaters with 97 adult chinook, 13 jack chinook and six adult coho kept plus one adult chinook released; 16 bank rods with no salmon. (ODFW)
John Day pool, 16 boaters with no catch; six bank rods with one adult chinook; 14 boaters with 15 walleye kept and 19 released. (ODFW)
Wind — Seven boaters with one steelhead released. The upper river upstream of Shipherd Falls opens Friday for catch-and-release steelhead fishing. Selective gear rules (no bait, barbless hooks) apply.
Drano Lake — One-hundred-fifty-six boaters kept 44 adult chinook, seven jack chinook, five adult coho and seven steelhead while releasing five adult chinook, one jack chinook and 10 steelhead. (WDFW)
Klickitat — Seventeen boaters with two adult chinook kept. (WDFW)
Cowlitz — Thirty-eight boaters with five adult chinook, one jack chinook, two adult coho, one jack coho and three steelhead kept plus eight adult chinook released; 107 bank rods with four adult chinook, one jack chinook, four steelhead and two adult coho kept plus 23 adult chinook released. (WDFW)
Kalama — Fifty-eight bank rods with one adult chinook kept and three released; three boaters with one adult chinook released. (WDFW)
