Following a second run upgrade, fishery managers from Oregon and Washington adopted additional fishing days (Tuesday, May 24 – Friday, June 3) for recreational spring Chinook salmon in the Columbia River downstream of Bonneville Dam today during a joint state hearing.
This additional opportunity is based on an updated May 16 forecast that projects the return of 180,000 upriver-origin adult spring Chinook (up from 161,000 projected a week ago). At this level, the updated projection would be about 118 percent of the recent 10-year average return of these fish.
The 11 added days in the lower river added today help fill in the gap from days set last week. The two additional days upstream of Bonneville Dam provide some extra time in an area where the season was cut short due to much higher than expected catches.
With the days added today, the upcoming recreational spring Chinook fishing days on the Columbia River are as follows:Below Bonneville Dam:
- Season: Thursday, May 12 through Sunday, May 22; Tuesday, May 24 through Wednesday, June 15
- Bag limit: Two adult hatchery salmonids (Chinook or steelhead) per day, but only one may be a Chinook.
- Open area: Tongue Point/Rocky Point line upstream to Beacon Rock (boat and bank) plus bank angling only from Beacon Rock upstream to the Bonneville Dam deadline. Legal upstream boat boundary defined as: A deadline marker on the Oregon bank (approximately four miles downstream from Bonneville Dam Powerhouse One) in a straight line through the western tip of Pierce Island to a deadline marker on the Washington bank at Beacon Rock.
- While the recreational spring Chinook fishery will not be open on Monday May 23, the shad fishery below Bonneville Dam and summer steelhead fishery between Tongue Point and the I-5 Bridge remain open per permanent regulations.
Above Bonneville Dam:
- Season: Thursday May 26 and Saturday May 28
- Bag limit: Two adult hatchery salmonids (Chinook or steelhead) per day, but only one may be a Chinook.
- Open Area: Tower Island power lines (approximately six miles downstream of The Dalles Dam) upstream to the Oregon/Washington border, plus bank angling only between Bonneville Dam and the Tower Island power lines.
Columbia River spring Chinook salmon seasons are driven by balancing opportunity with Endangered Species Act limitations, provisions in the management agreement between the states and Columbia River Treaty Tribes that specify the total harvest guideline of upriver-origin spring Chinook and guidance from the Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissions regarding the allocation of spring Chinook among the non-treaty fisheries.
Fishery managers will monitor these fisheries and may consider further hearings to consider the latest information on catch rates to determine if additional fishery management actions are needed.
For the latest on Columbia River fishing regulations, visit the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s website.
