High catch rates in recent weeks have persuaded Washington state officials to extend the reward fishery - designed to reduce the number of northern pikeminnow in the Columbia and river systems - through Oct. 14.
A lower than anticipated return of upriver fall chinook salmon has cut short the sport harvest on the Columbia River mainstem, forcing a closure downstream of Bonneville Dam at the end of the day Tuesday (Sept. 18) and from Bonneville upstream to Pasco, Wash., Wednesday (Sept. 19).
Lower Columbia River anglers were put on notice Thursday that their pursuit of fall chinook salmon could be ended soon because of a flagging "upriver bright" run.
As one fisherman mused Wednesday, "It's hard to get my mind around the fact that slow fishing is good news."
Yet it's true for anglers pursuing chinook and coho salmon in the popular Buoy 10 fishing area at the mouth of the Columbia River. A dip in the catch rate in recent days will allow the Buoy 10 sport season to remain open as planned through Sept. 3 and the long Labor Day weekend.
A program designed to balance nutrients in Dworshak Reservoir and grow bigger fish may already be yielding visible results.
Anglers can receive up to $100 in rewards for providing information about tagged chinook salmon they catch in areas of the upper Columbia River drainage that opened for fishing July 1.
The fishing season sizzled, initially, but the return of upriver summer chinook salmon has fizzled to this point, forcing Oregon and Washington fishery managers to end lower Columbia River mainstem pursuit of the prized "June hogs."
Chinook salmon sport fishing on the Columbia River mainstem between Bonneville and Priest Rapids dams will be closed at the end of the day Monday, nearly a month sooner than planned.
Northwest Montana's Lion Lake has long been a popular and convenient destination for anglers, but judging from history, that’s about to change.
A marina upgrade project this spring dealt a blow to a multi-million dollar effort to restore kokanee salmon populations on north Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille, wiping away 15 percent of the wild fry produced this year.
Oregon and Washington fishery managers decided Tuesday that the risk of breaching Endangered Species Act impact limits is low enough to allow a reopening of sport fishing for spring chinook on the lower Columbia River mainstem.
Anglers can earn cash and help save salmon by participating in the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery Program, which kicks off May 14 in the lower Columbia and Snake rivers. The program continues until Sept. 30.
The Columbia River's 2007 upriver spring chinook salmon return has begun to show some signs of life in recent days, but the jury's still out on whether it's a "late-time" run or it's smaller than anticipated.
The National Hydropower Association has awarded Avista the “Outstanding Stewardship of America’s Waters” for the Northwest utility’s collaborative efforts to protect the fisheries in Lake Pend Oreille by working with stakeholders to reduce predatory species.
For some anglers it’s catch-and-release, but for Idaho Power it’s more a matter of haul-and-release.
Last month company crews moved nearly 500,000 juvenile spring chinook salmon from the company’s Rapid River Hatchery near Riggins, Idaho, to locations on the Snake and Little Salmon rivers where they were released to begin their trip to the Pacific Ocean.
Prospects for salmon fishing are down this year with fewer chinook and coho expected to return to most rivers in the region, according to preseason forecasts developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and treaty tribes.
Mike Hepper, a veteran angler from Richland has set a new state record for the largest walleye caught in state waters, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed.
Fishing outfitters and private anglers both agreed Friday night that the lower Clearwater River is becoming more crowded during the annual steelhead season.
The future outlook for kokanee in Lake Pend Oreille is better today than it was a year ago.
However, efforts to reduce predators must be sustained to restore the popular kokanee and rainbow trout fisheries, say Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials.
The level of northern Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille will be held higher longer, then dropped more rapidly than normal this fall in hopes of leaving newly laid lake trout eggs high and dry and, ultimately, reduce the number of those voracious predators.
Anglers on the Columbia and Snake rivers have been busy reeling in tens of thousands of northern pikeminnow this spring and summer as part of the Northern Pikeminnow Management Program’s sport reward season.
Hot late August and early September chinook salmon fishing could force closure of that sport fishery on the lower Columbia River mainstem as early as next week, according to Oregon and Washington officials.
Columbia River mainstem fishers will make a smooth transition next week to "fall" salmon fishing after one of the most successful summer seasons in more than three decades.
In Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho, populations of predatory fish species, particularly rainbow trout and lake trout, are too high to be sustained by the declining kokanee salmon population.
Oregon and Washington fishery officials expressed optimism that this year's upriver spring chinook salmon will eventually make a surge towards their home hatcheries and spawning areas in reasonably high numbers.
An Earthwise Knowledge Initiative Publication
