Spring chinook fishing is not expected to be good these next five days, but at least the lower Columbia River is below flood stage and anglers have a glimmer of hope of success.
For the season to date, here are the numbers of boat angler trips per retained spring chinook by river section: estuary, 4.8 trips per chinook; Cathlamet, 5.9 trips per chinook; Longview 14.5 trips per chinook; Cowlitz River mouth, 9.8 trips per chinook; Kalama, 21 trips per chinook,; Woodland, 6.6 trips per chinook; Warrior Rock to Kelley Point, 14.4; Davis Bar to Portland airport tower, 40; Camas-Washougal, 35 and Columbia Gorge downstream of Beacon Rock, 5.6.
Obviously, the better fishing has been in the lower end of the Columbia, as would be expected at this time of year.
• Battle Ground Lake was stocked last week with 2,000 rainbow trout and about 3,600 cutthroat trout. Lacamas Lake got 6,000 rainbow trout. Horseshoe Lake in Woodland got 33 surplus winter steelhead.
• The East Fork of the Lewis River from the mouth the upper boat ramp at Lewisville Park and the Washougal River from the mouth to the Mount Norway bridge open on Sunday for hatchery steelhead. Through June 2, single barbless hooks must be used and bait is prohibited.
Angler sampling by the Washington (WDFW) and Oregon (ODFW) departments of Fish and Wildlife:
Lower Columbia — Tongue Point to Wauna power lines, 42 boaters with 12 spring chinook kept and three released. (ODFW)
Downstream of Puget Island, 179 boaters with 44 adult spring chinook kept and two released. (WDFW)
Cathlamet, 56 boaters with 10 adult spring chinook and one jack chinook kept plus two adult chinook released; 13 bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Westport, Ore., to Portland, 353 boaters with 36 adult spring chinook and two steelhead kept plus two spring chinook released; 289 Oregon bank rods with eight spring chinook and one steelhead kept plus two chinook released. (ODFW)
Longview, 264 boaters with 23 adult spring chinook kept and one released; 37 bank rods with one adult chinook kept. (WDFW)
Cowlitz River mouth, 58 boaters with nine adult spring chinook kept. (WDFW)
Kalama, 340 boaters with 17 adult spring chinook, one jack chinook and two steelhead kept plus seven adult chinook and one steelhead released; eight bank rods with no catch. (WDFW)
Woodland, 138 boaters with 26 adult spring chinook kept and three released; 136 bank rods with three adult spring chinook kept and one released. (WDFW)
Warrior Rock to Kelley Point, 230 boaters with eight spring chinook kept and one released; 63 bank rods with one adult spring chinook kept and one steelhead released. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport tower, 24 boaters with one adult spring chinook kept. (WDFW)
Troutdale, Ore., 147 boaters with four adult spring chinook kept. (ODFW)
Camas-Washougal, five boaters with no salmon. (WDFW)
North Bonneville, 89 bank rods with five adult spring chinook kept. (WDFW)
Columbia Gorge (downstream of Beacon Rock), 13 boaters with three adult spring chinook kept; 10 Oregon bank rods with no catch. (ODFW)
Mid-Columbia — John Day pool, 17 boaters with 42 walleye kept and 52 released. (ODFW)
Cowlitz — Thirty-seven boaters with four adult spring chinook and 20 winter steelhead kept plus one adult chinook released; 137 bank rods with three adult spring chinook and 19 steelhead kept plus three steelhead and one cutthroat trout released. (WDFW)
At Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery, 315 winter steelhead, one jack steelhead, 60 adult spring chinook and one cutthroat trout returned last week.
Kalama — Seventy-nine bank rods with two hatchery steelhead and one hatchery spring chinook kept plus five wild steelhead released; 54 boaters with three hatchery steelhead kept plus six wild and one hatchery steelhead released. (WDFW)
