Salmon fishing resumes Thursday, Aug. 24 in the Buoy 10 area at the mouth of the Columbia River after a scheduled, three-day closure to dampen harvest and allow state biologists to calculate the catch.
Angling between red Buoy No. 10 at the entrance to the Columbia and the west tip of Puget Island near Cathlamet is open Thursday through Sunday, then closed Monday and Tuesday before reopening Wednesday, Aug. 30.
The bag limit is two salmon, but only one chinook through Sept. 4. Only hatchery-origin (fin-clipped) chinook and coho may be retained at Buoy 10. Beginning Sept. 5, the bag limit is three hatchery-origin coho, but all chinook must be released.
Creel checks from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday show 854 anglers with 126 hatchery chinook and 81 hatchery coho retained.
Scheduled regulations for other portions of the Columbia include:
West Puget Island to Lewis River — Open daily through Sept. 4; two-salmon limit, but only one chinook. Any chinook and hatchery coho allowed. Closed to all salmon fishing Sept. 5-30.
Lewis River to Bonneville Dam — Open daily through Sept. 14; two-salmon limit, but only one chinook. Any chinook and hatchery coho allowed.
Bonneville Dam to Highway 395 in Pasco — Open daily through Oct. 15; two-salmon limit, but only one chinook. Any chinook allowed. Only hatchery coho downstream of the Hood River Bridge, but any coho may be retained upstream of the bridge. Beginning Oct. 16, the daily limit is two salmon, coho only, with wild coho release downstream of the Hood River Bridge.
Fishery reports
The Washington Columbia River mainstem and tributary sport sampling summary for Aug. 14-20.
There were 513 salmonid boats and 176 Washington bank rods tallied during the Aug. 19 flight count.
COLUMBIA RIVER MAINSTEM
SALMON/STEELHEAD
Sec 1 (Bonneville) — 47 bank anglers kept one Chinook and released five steelhead. 4 boats/8 rods had no catch.
Sec 2 (Camas/Washougal) — 14 boats/27 rods kept one Chinook and released one Chinook.
Sec 3 (I-5 area) — Two bank anglers had no catch; seven boats/16 rods had no catch.
Sec 4 (Vancouver) — 70 bank anglers kept four Chinook; 19 boats/38 rods kept one Chinook.
Sec 5 (Woodland) — 44 bank anglers had no catch; 43 boats/96 rods kept three Chinook, one jack and released one steelhead.
Sec 6 (Kalama) — 285 bank anglers kept 24 Chinook, one jack and released one steelhead; 37 boats/79 rods kept seven Chinook.
Sec 7 (Cowlitz) — 70 boats/176 rods kept 19 Chinook, one jack and released one Chinook.
Sec 8 (Longview) — 56 bank anglers kept two Chinook, one jack and released two steelhead; 58 boats/116 rods kept one Chinook and released three steelhead.
Sec 9 (Cathlamet) — 14 bank anglers had no catch; 6 boats/12 rods had no catch.
STURGEON
Sec 8 (Longview) — One boat/two rods had no catch.
COLUMBIA RIVER TRIBUTARIES
SALMON/STEELHEAD
Cowlitz River from Interstate 5 bridge downstream — 24 bank rods had no catch; two boats/two rods kept one steelhead.
Cowlitz River above the I-5 bridge — 11 bank rods kept one steelhead and released two steelhead; 10 boats/33 rods kept 29 steelhead.
Kalama River — One bank rod had no catch.
Lewis River — Three bank rods had no catch; six boats/11 rods released one Chinook and one steelhead.
Drano Lake — 20 bank rods kept two Chinook and released one Chinook and one steelhead; 93 boats/232 rods kept 51 Chinook, three jacks, one coho and released 13 Chinook, two jacks and 12 steelhead.
Klickitat River above No. 5 Fishway — One bank rod had no catch.
BUOY 10
SALMON/STEELHEAD
Friday-Sunday creel check — 854 rods with 126 hatchery chinook and 81 hatchery coho kept.
