Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington added additional recreational salmon fishing days in the mainstem Columbia River during a joint state hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Chinook fishing at Buoy 10, which had closed Sept. 4, will reopen from Sept. 12-22 and the daily adult bag limit will increase to three salmon (no more than one may be a Chinook). The daily adult bag limit from Sept. 23-Oct. 31 will now be three hatchery coho.
Mainstem fisheries from Warrior Rock upstream to the Highway 395 Bridge in Pasco, Wash., were scheduled to close to salmon fishing on Sept. 16 but will remain open through Sept. 22.
The decision comes after fishery biologists with the U.S. v. Oregon Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) provided the first in-season abundance update for upriver stocks of fall Chinook on Sept. 9. This included a slight upgrade to upriver bright Chinook, which was the primary limiting stock in preseason planning. This, coupled with an assessment of recreational Chinook fisheries to date, allowed the states to add some more Chinook fishing opportunity.
Visit the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Columbia River zone regulations updates page to see the updated seasons and bag limits.
All other permanent regulations are in effect including the use of barbless hooks when angling for salmon or steelhead in mainstem Columbia River waters from the mouth upstream to the OR/WA state line.
