Fall chinook salmon fishing in the Columbia River opens Tuesday with the arrival of August including new regulations to dampen the catch at Buoy 10.
The big change is that at Buoy 10 — the lower 16 miles of the Columbia — only hatchery chinook and hatchery coho can be retained. This is the first year with no open periods for retention of wild chinook.
Also at Buoy 10, fishing will be closed Aug. 21-23 and Aug. 28-29. That’s five days out of what historically have been the top 10 catch days in the Columbia River estuary.
A summary of the Columbia River fall salmon fishing regulations is available online at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/north-falcon/summaries#columbia.
With the changes at Buoy 10, and the opportunity to still retain a wild chinook upstream of the west tip of Puget Island near Cathlamet, shifts in fishing effort and catch are likely. It will not be a surprise if early closures occur in late August or early September.
Swift Reservoir — Swift Reservoir on the North Fork of the Lewis River was at elevation 978 feet on Tuesday. The water has been gradually dropping. Launching a boat at Swift Forest Camp gets difficult when the reservoir drops below 975 feet.
Fishery reports
The Washington Columbia River mainstem and tributary sport sampling summary for July 17-23.
There were 81 salmonid boats and 231 Washington bank rods were tallied during the July 22 flight count.
COLUMBIA RIVER MAINSTEM
SALMON/STEELHEAD
Sec 1 (Bonneville) — 63 bank anglers kept five steelhead and released one Chinook and 11 steelhead.
Sec 2 (Camas/Washougal) — Three bank anglers had no catch.
Sec 3 (I-5 area) — Nine bank anglers had no catch; two boats/three rods had no catch.
Sec 4 (Vancouver) — 42 bank anglers kept one steelhead and released four steelhead; six boats/10 rods kept one steelhead and released one steelhead.
Sec 5 (Woodland) — 36 bank anglers kept three steelhead and released four steelhead; six boats/12 rods kept two steelhead and released one steelhead.
Sec 6 (Kalama) — 170 bank anglers kept four steelhead, one sockeye and released two Chinook and seven steelhead; 13 boats/28 rods released two steelhead.
Sec 7 (Cowlitz) — One boat/two rods had no catch.
Sec 8 (Longview) — 156 bank anglers kept 14 steelhead, one sockeye and released one Chinook and five steelhead; 47 boats/111 rods kept 18 steelhead and released one Chinook and eight steelhead.
Sec 9 (Cathlamet) — 29 bank anglers kept three steelhead and released one Chinook and three steelhead; 16 boats/32 rods kept seven steelhead and released two steelhead.
Sec 10 (Cathlamet) — Nine bank anglers kept one steelhead and released one steelhead.
STURGEON
Sec 5 (Woodland) — One boat/two rods had no catch.
Sec 6 (Kalama) — One boat/two rods released 20 sublegal and three legal sturgeon.
COLUMBIA RIVER TRIBUTARIES
SALMON/STEELHEAD
Cowlitz River from Interstate 5 bridge downstream — 40 bank rods kept one steelhead; two boats/seven rods had no catch.
Cowlitz River above the I-5 bridge — 37 bank rods kept one jack, one steelhead and released one Chinook and one jack; 30 boats/97 rods kept three jacks, 53 steelhead and released two steelhead.
Kalama River — 28 bank rods had no catch; one boat/two rods had no catch.
Lewis River — 24 bank rods kept two steelhead; four boats/six rods had no catch.
Drano Lake — Eight boats/15 rods kept one Chinook and released four Chinook and five steelhead.
Klickitat River below Fisher Hill Bridge — One bank rod had no catch.
