The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will open retention of hatchery Chinook under permanent rule on the lower Klickitat River, effective immediately through July 31.
This action is in effect for the Klickitat River, from the mouth (Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge) to Fisher Hill Bridge.
Fishery co-managers have indicated the majority of the spring chinook run has passed above Lyle Falls into the upper river, making continued closure of the hatchery chinook fishery in the lower river unnecessary.
Chinook retention was closed by emergency rule June 16 in the stretch of the Klickitat River noted above due to low returns to the Klickitat Salmon Hatchery.
Rowland Lake launch closing for upgrades
A popular boat launch in Klickitat County used by boaters, swimmers, and anglers fishing near the Columbia River will be closed for upgrades and repairs for approximately three weeks.
The Rowland Lake Access, owned and maintained by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will be closed for upgrades and repairs starting Monday, July 30 through at least Aug. 17.
The lake is located four miles east of the towns of Bingen and White Salmon on State Route 14 in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Boating Facilities Program grant funds provided by the state Recreation and Conservation Office will be used to design and construct phase 1 of the upgrade, which will include a new concrete boat ramp, a new turn-around, a staging area for loading and unloading boats, an ADA parking pad for the restroom, and new parking bumpers.
Boulders already on the property will be used to restrict vehicle access to sensitive shoreline areas.
Summer chinook counts prompt reopening
Stronger-than-expected returns of summer chinook salmon moving past Priest Rapids Dam have prompted fishery managers to reopen chinook fishing in select mainstream pools and tributaries of the upper Columbia River.
Starting July 25, anglers can again catch and keep hatchery adult chinook from Rocky Reach Dam to Wells Dam, and in the Wenatchee and Chelan rivers. In addition, the Chinook fishery will open Aug. 1 from Wells Dam to Chief Joseph Dam, including the Okanogan and Similkameen rivers.
The daily limit of hatchery adult chinook is two fish per angler. Additional regulations are described in the Fishing Rule Change.
Department of Fish and Wildlife closed area chinook fisheries earlier this month after the summer chinook run was downgraded from a preseason projection of 67,300 fish to 44,000 fish. Based primarily on counts at Bonneville Dam, that assessment indicated that this year’s run size was one of the lowest on record since 2000.
“The counts at Bonneville Dam indicated a very low return, so we were compelled to take the precautionary step of closing the fisheries until additional information was available,” said Bill Tweit, WDFW Columbia River management unit leader. “But more recent fish counts of summer chinook passing Priest Rapids Dam farther upstream indicate that the run is stronger than expected.”
Tweit noted that the overlap of spring and summer chinook passing Bonneville Dam can make it difficult to get an accurate estimate of the summer chinook return. Recent counts of summer chinook passing Priest Rapids Dam provide a more accurate assessment of this year’s return, he said.
Based on current projections of summer chinook passage over Priest Rapids Dam, state fishery managers are now confident that there are surplus fish from the Chelan Falls, Entiat, and Chief Joseph hatchery programs available for harvest. (WDFW)
Angler establishes state record
John Sly of Tacoma has established the state record for the largest redbanded rockfish caught in state waters, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed.
Sly caught the 7.54-pound redbanded rockfish while jigging with bait out of Westport on June 21. There was no previous state record established for this species.
Richard Hale of Tukwila broke another recently established record, also on June 21. Hale caught a 5.93 pound arrowtooth flounder, about a month after the arrowtooth flounder record was established for the state by Art Tachell.
Hale caught his flounder while drift fishing with bait out of Neah Bay, besting Tachell’s 3.89 pound fish by more than 2 pounds.
A complete listing of Washington’s state record fish is available at WDFW’s website.
Gifford-Pinchot closes Forest Road 23
Forest Road 23 will be closed through Aug. 27 to complete road repairs begun last fall.
This work includes building a culvert under the roadway, constructing the road surface on top of the culvert, and paving the surface. The Forest Road 23 closure is between FR 2322 and FR 2325, which is located between Blue Lake and the Olallie Lake area.
Vehicles traveling between Trout Lake and Randle will not be able to use Forest Road 23 the entire way.
Call the Cowlitz Valley at 360-497-1100 or Mt. Adams Ranger District at 509-395-3400 for alternate open roads.
