The north jetty of the Columbia River — the only decent fishing spot for bank anglers during the popular Buoy 10 salmon season — is closed to public access.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed the north jetty and Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park on Saturday when work began on a project to reinforce beaches ravaged by winter storms.
“The north jetty provides the only real bank access to salmon fishing in that area, so bank anglers will need to make other plans,” said Pat Frazier, regional fish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “The timing of the closure is unfortunate, but public safety has to be the Corp’s first priority.
Fishing at Buoy 10, the name given to the lower 16 miles of the Columbia River from the ocean upstream to Tongue Point in Oregon and Rocky Point in Washington, opens Aug. 1.
A big run of 664,900 fall chinook salmon is forecast to enter the Columbia along with a subpar return of 286,600 coho salmon.
Buoy 10 will be open for both coho and chinook with a two-fish limit, but only one chinook. Beginning Sept. 1, all chinook must be released.
Jetty anglers also can catch rockfish, lingcod and surf perch off the jetty, although surf perch are available along the entire Long Beach peninsula, Frazer added.
A map of the area affected by beach reconstruction is online at the Corps website at www.nwp.usace.army.mil/north_jetty_security_zone.pdf.
The closure continues through Sept. 29, according to the Corps of Engineers.
North Toutle mudflow — A hunting area along the North Fork of the Toutle River west of Mount St. Helens also is closed to access.
More than 1,000 acres of land near the Corps’ Sediment Retention Structure are involved.
The Corps is building a series of wood pile structures in the sediment plain upstream of the SRS to keep mud out of the North Fork of the Toutle.
The construction zone straddles two game units — Toutle and Margaret. The area will open to bowhunting in early September before the access restrictions are lifted later in the month.
“The closed area is just a small fraction of the Toutle and Margaret game management areas,” said Brian Calkins, manager of the state’s St. Helens Wildlife Area.
More about the sediment project is online at www.nwp.usace.army.mil/projects/mountsthelens.asp.
“We don’t want people surprised if they see ‘restricted access’ signs in their favorite recreational areas,” said Guy Norman, regional director for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Those access closures take precedence over the fishing or hunting rules in those areas.”
