Fishing report, Jan. 18

Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools are open to retention of white sturgeon until quotas are reached (under permanent regulations). See 2018 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for size, daily, and annual bag limits. Anglers are advised to check weather conditions before driving to the gorge.

White sturgeon retention is closed from Buoy 10 upstream to Bonneville Dam, but remains an option for catch-and-release fishing.

Walleye angling is good in The Dalles Pool.

A few winter steelhead should be available for anglers plunking from the beaches on the lower Columbia River.

Sturgeon

Bonneville Pool: Weekly checking showed five sublegal sturgeon released for 16 bank anglers; and two legal white sturgeon kept, plus 163 sublegals and one oversize sturgeon released for 14 boats (33 anglers).

The Dalles Pool: Weekly checking showed two oversize sturgeon released for 24 bank anglers; and eight legal white sturgeon kept, plus 25 sublegal and two oversize sturgeon released for 10 boats (26 anglers).

Walleye

The Dalles Pool: Weekly checking showed three walleye kept for one bank angler; and 26 walleye kept, plus six walleye released for seven boats (15 anglers).(ODFW)

Salmon steelhead

The salmonid creel program on the lower Columbia has ended for the year and will resume February of 2018.

Columbia River Endorsement Creel Surveys

Fishing was slowed by high water in some streams. Early steelhead runs may be past their peak.

Hotspots in recent weeks include Salmon Creek and the Elochoman River.

Elochoman River: This year’s return is coming back from a plant of only 65k smolts but is the first year since before 2009 that the fish were reared with predator netting and fencing. Numbers of returning adults have been phenomenal as we are close to 600 trapped for the season with anticipations of reaching 1,000. We are surplusing and recycling adults which we haven’t done for years and the fishing pressure has been enormous with a lot of happy fisherman. Next winter’s return will come back from a plant of almost double the smolts. (WDFW)

Salmon Creek: 48 anglers kept 6 hatchery steelhead and released one wild fish

North Fork Lewis River: More than 1,000 hatchery steelhead have returned to the hatchery. Last year only 250 steelhead had returned by this time.

Cowlitz River: From the I-5 bridge downstream, 5 bank rods had no catch. Upstream from the I-5 Bridge: 19 bank and 1 boat rods had no catch.

Bonneville Dam to McNary Dam: No effort was observed for steelhead.

Trout

Recent plants of catchable size to 10 pound rainbows and surplus adult winter steelhead released into Southwest Washington waters. No report on angling success.

Carlisle Lake (Lewis County): Jan 8, 100 rainbow at 0.2 per pound

Horseshoe Lake (Cowlitz County): Jan 9, 115 rainbow at 0.2 per pound. Jan 4, 2,400 rainbow at 2.34 per pound.

Icehouse Lake (Skamania County): Jan 5, 1,450 rainbow at 2.4 per pound

Kress Lake (Cowlitz County): 78 adult winter steelhead, collected at the Kalama Falls Hatchery, have been planted in Kress Lake so far this month. Jan 4, 2,000 rainbow at 2.34 per pound

Sacajawea Lake (Cowlitz County): Jan 10, 30 rainbow at a pound each, and 66 rainbow at 0.2 per pound. (WDFW)

Eulachon (Smelt)

Recent returns and this year’s forecast:

• Numbers of spawning adult eulachon, as spawning stock biomass (SSB) in pounds, back- calculated from annual eulachon larvae production estimates, has been estimated since 2011 for the Columbia River and tributaries.

• Total run-size has been estimated from combined harvest and SSB estimates.

• Eulachon abundance increased steadily from 2011 to 2014, reaching a peak of 16.6 million pounds, and has since declined the past three years.

• Ocean environmental conditions were favorable for marine survival during 2012-2013, but have deteriorated the past three years.

• The 2018 return is expected to be smaller in magnitude than the 2017 return.

Recent fisheries

• Both commercial and recreational fisheries were closed to all harvest in 2011-2013.

• Very conservative reduced Level-1 fisheries were reinstated in 2014 to collect biological and catch per effort data.

• The 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 commercial fisheries each consisted of eight fishing periods over four weeks in the mainstem Columbia River.

• The recreational fishery provided: two meaningful days of harvest opportunity in the Cowlitz River during 2014 and 2015 (five days in 2014 and two days in 2015) along with an opportunity in the Sandy River; and, one day in the Cowlitz River during 2016 and 2017. (WDFW)