States to consider net, sport spring chinook fishing extensions

Washington and Oregon officials will meet by teleconference at 1 p.m. Monday to consider a commercial salmon fishing extension for the lower Columbia River.

The states will meet at 3 p.m. Wednesday to consider a spring chinook sport-fishing re-opener.

Tuesday night’s four-hour commercial season resulted in landings of 1,236 spring chinook and four sturgeon. State biologists had estimated the netters would catch about 2,700 salmon.

The chinook averaged 13.6 pounds. There were 150 deliveries.

The commercial fleet headed into Tuesday night with 1,852 upper Columbia-origin spring chinook on their initial allocation and have about 900 remaining, said Robin Ehlke of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Sportsmen have taken a projected 40 percent of their lower Columbia River initial spring chinook salmon allocation through Thursday.

Washington and Oregon biologists project there have been 65,000 fishing trips with 3,770 chinook kept and 1,092 released. The catch of spring chinook headed for waters upstream of Bonneville Dam totals 2,964.

Anglers in the Columbia downstream of Bonneville Dam have an allocation of 7,743 upper Columbia spring chinook prior to when the run can be updated in early to mid-May.

Sport fishing will be closed beginning Tuesday.

Sportsmen also have kept 553 steelhead and released 411.