The states have agreed to allow an additional week of salmon fishing in the mainstem Columbia after salmon returns were better than expected.
The river was slated to close after Sept. 15, and remain closed until October, but after fisheries managers reviewed catch data, they decided there were enough fish to allow the season extension.
Also, anglers in the estuary will be allowed to keep one Chinook a day as part of their three-fish daily limit.
According to the WDFW news release, effective through Sunday, Sept. 22, retention of one Chinook is allowed in the daily adult bag limit for the mainstem Columbia River fishery from the Buoy 10 line upstream to west Puget Island. From Monday, Sept. 23 through Thursday, Oct. 31, the daily limit is three hatchery coho.
In good news for Vancouver and Clark County anglers, the news release states that effective Monday, Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 22, retention of Chinook and coho is allowed in the mainstem Columbia River from Bonneville Dam upstream to Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco. Only one Chinook may be kept as part of a two-fish limit.
Catches have been good in the Vancouver area, with anglers finding a good bite while anchoring during the outgoing tides, and fishing stationary baits, and while trolling during the rising and slack tides with pro-troll flashers and spinners, or Spinfish, a bait-filled plug.
Ryan Lothrop, the Columbia River fisheries manager for the WDFW, said the extra days were a result of good returns coupled with a conservative approach initially to the season, which left some fish still on the table for anglers.
“Some extra fish became available,” said Lothrop, “So the recreational share got some bonus Chinook.”
“We (initially) didn’t have enough to work with, so we had to wait to see if there were enough fish. We did not want to overextend,” he added.
Lothrop also said anglers could get lucky enough to get some more fishing days. The states intend to review catches every week, and if the trends are positive, they may allow some more additional days.
As for the coho run, it has been better than expected. Estimates of the returning hatchery component turned out to be low.
“The early component was expected to have a 30 percent-mark rate, but it has been much better than expected,” said Lothrop.
Anglers are certainly hoping for a return to better fishing from the late component of the coho run, since last year the fish seemed to be a no-show, both in the mainstem and in the tributaries. The later component is usually smaller than the early segment, but the fishing is tends to be much better than it was in 2023.
Oregon fishing guide Bob Rees has stayed down at Buoy 10 to chase coho, and he thinks the late run may be better this year. He points to the fact that the fish have been staying close to the coast this year, instead of feeding way out in the tuna water, as they did last year. Right now, he has been happy with the numbers of early-run coho he is getting in the estuary.
“We’ve been getting eight to 11 fish a day,” he said. “I think the mark rate has been about 50 percent. It’s hard to complain about that.”
He is happy that Chinook may now be retained, but he notes most of the Chinook have already passed through the estuary.
He does intend to stick with the Buoy 10 coho through Sept. 17. He expects the fishing to slow by he last week of the month.
He reports that bait has been outproducing the plastic plugs that worked so well on the Chinook. The hot bite has been on anchovies.
“The hooked to landing ratio is better on the plastics,” he said, “but we have been getting more bites on the anchovies.”
He has been getting his best action in the first part of the incoming tide, down near the Buoy 10, and later in the day he has been finding them above the bridge on the Washington side during the high tides. He reports that the fishing during the mid-day has been slow.
For local anglers the fishing is reaching a peak right now, and the extra days should mean more salmon on the barbeque. Trollers have been taking Chinook with spinners and Spinfish plugs fished with Pro-troll 360 flashers. The same baits have been effective in the hog lines, minus the flashers.
Off the main stem fishing has also been good, with Drano Lake producing good numbers of Chinook by anglers trolling, and hover fishing with salmon eggs.
Coho and Chinook are both showing up in the Columbia River tributaries, and anglers should see good catches into October.
Anglers may not keep Chinook or coho jacks in the Buoy 10 fishery, but they can be kept in the upper sections of the Columbia. Every section of the river has different regulations, so always check before fishing.
