[ODFW-News] Mainstem Columbia River closes to chinook angling Sunday

[ODFW News]

For Immediate Release Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005
 
Mainstem Columbia River closes to chinook angling Sunday
 
CLACKAMAS - Oregon and Washington fishery managers decided today to
close the Columbia River to retention of chinook salmon from the Tongue
Point/Rocky Point line upstream to Bonneville Dam beginning Sunday,
Sept. 18, because the harvest guideline for this area will be reached.
The fishery will remain open for adipose fin-clipped coho and adipose
fin-clipped steelhead through the end of the year.
 
Based on passage at Bonneville Dam, approximately 280,000 upriver bright
fall chinook currently are predicted to return to the Columbia River
compared to the pre-season estimate of 354,600. Managers agreed to leave
the "Buoy 10" fishery open because chinook catches are minimal after
mid-September.  
 
The popular fall salmon fishery got off to a slow start in August, but
catch rates improved substantially by the end of the month. The peak
observed catch rate occurred during the last week of August with good
catch rates continuing through the second week of September. Anglers
averaged between 0.5 and 1.5 chinook per boat over the last two weeks.
Effort also has been high with up to 1,900 boats per day participating
in the fishery on weekend days and 1,200 boats per day on weekdays.
Anglers are estimated to have caught approximately 16,400 chinook
through Sept. 17. 
 
"Pre-season, we implemented the one-chinook daily bag limit to increase
the chances that the fishery would remain open through September," said
John North, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"The one-chinook bag limit has reduced catches but not enough to keep
the fishery open with higher than anticipated effort and a decline in
the upriver bright forecast. We needed to take this action to remain
within our conservation guidelines and allocation agreements."
 
In addition to fish conservation, the goal for the mainstem recreational
fishery below Bonneville Dam is to provide chinook retention through
September, or at least through mid-September when catch rates and effort
are highest, according to North. 
 
"The higher than expected catch rates combined with a run size that
appears to be about 20 percent smaller than forecast have brought us to
this point," North said.
 
Oregon anglers are reminded of the following regulations:
* The Buoy 10 area is defined as that part of the Columbia River from
Buoy 10 upstream to a line projected from Rocky Point on the Washington
bank through red buoy 44 to the navigation light at Tongue Point on the
Oregon bank.
* Salmon fishing in the Buoy 10 area remains open through December, for
chinook, adipose fin-clipped coho and adipose fin-clipped steelhead. The
daily bag limit is two salmon, of which only one can be a chinook.  
* Salmon fishing from the Rocky Point-Tongue Point line to Bonneville
Dam remains open for adipose fin-clipped coho and adipose fin-clipped
steelhead through Dec. 31.
* The Columbia River from Bonneville Dam upstream to the
Oregon-Washington border opened Aug. 1 for fall chinook, coho and
adipose fin-clipped steelhead through Dec. 31. The daily bag limit
includes two adult salmon and five jack salmon.
 
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