Chinook catch rates ‘fair to good’
Catch rates ranged from fair to good during the first weekend of summer chinook angling on the lower Columbia River, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reports.
Boat anglers in the Gorge had the best success, with anglers averaging 1.05 summer chinook caught per boat. In the estuary boat anglers averaged 0.9 summer chinook, 0.2 steelhead, and 0.1 sockeye caught per boat, while anglers fishing the Portland to Longview area averaged 0.3 summer chinook and 0.03 sockeye caught per boat. In Troutdale, Ore., boat anglers averaged 0.13 summer chinook caught per boat.
Bank anglers fishing in the Gorge had the highest summer chinook catch rates, where anglers averaged 0.10 summer chinook caught per angler. In the estuary bank, anglers averaged 0.09 summer chinook, 0.09 steelhead and 0.13 sockeye caught per angler, while bank anglers fishing the Portland to Longview area averaged 0.04 summer chinook, 0.05 steelhead, and 0.12 sockeye caught per angler. On Saturday’s flight, 850 salmonid boats, 36 shad boats, 612 Oregon salmonid bank anglers, and 147 Oregon shad bank anglers were counted.
Effective June 16 through July 31, the Columbia from Astoria, Ore., to the Oregon-Washington border is open to the retention of adipose fin-clipped summer chinook, adipose fin-clipped steelhead, sockeye (fin-clipped or not) and shad.