Pikeminnow fishing reward program resumes Monday

Anglers can begin fishing for cash on Monday when the Columbia-Snake river northern pikeminnow sport-reward program opens for 2017.

The program continues until Sept. 30 and pays $5 for the first 25 northern pikeminnow, $6 for Nos. 26 through 200, and $8 for No. 201 and more. There also are tagged fish in the Columbia and Snake rivers worth $500 each, said Eric Winther, program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Pikeminnows must be at least 9 inches to earn the reward.

Pikeminnows eat millions of young salmon and steelhead migrating down the Columbia and Snake rivers annually.

Anglers must register before they go fishing. There are 19 registration stations scattered between Cathlamet and Clarkston, including at Ridgefield Marina, the Port of Camas-Washougal, Beacon Rock State Park and Bingen Marina.

Winther will present a free clinic on how to catch pikeminnow at 6 p.m. today at the Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2108 Grand Blvd.

Northern pikeminnow fishing is expected to get off to a slow start in 2017 due to the high streamflows in the Columbia River.

For more details about the program, go online to http://www.pikeminnow.org.