MEDFORD, Ore. — Anglers on the Willamette River and its tributaries now have the opportunity to fish with two rods, giving them an extra chance to catch salmon.
Since 2010, Oregon has sold a special $21 license to anglers who want to use two rods when fishing on lakes and reservoirs. Oregon Fish and Wildlife Director Curt Melcher signed a temporary rule this week that expands it to the Willamette for the spring chinook salmon fishery.
The temporary rule began Friday and ends July 31. It allows two rods for salmon, steelhead, trout and bass but not sturgeon.
If the Willamette experiment proves successful, it could be extended to coastal rivers such as the Rogue.
“We’re starting on the Willamette, and we’re taking it from there,” Mike Gauvin, ODFW’s recreational fisheries program manager, told the Mail Tribune newspaper (http://is.gd/u8PL0W).
“We’re going into this with eyes wide open. We haven’t held discussions on where other than the Willamette. I think we’ll have to look at it river by river.”
The possibility of two-rod angling for salmon and steelhead would raise several issues on the Rogue. For example, anglers adding a second rod while trolling the lower Rogue bay for chinook and coho would increase catch rates there, potentially limiting the number of fish available for upriver angling.
“You’d want to make sure you’re not setting yourself up for social problems between areas,” said Russ Stauff, ODFW’s Rogue Watershed manager.
ODFW sold 16,400 two-rod tags last year. Those who own such a license can use it on the Willamette, Gauvin said, and those who buy one for the Willamette can use it at other waters where it’s allowed.
