A record number of anglers fishing for white sturgeon in the Bonneville Dam pool shot through the harvest guideline of 675 fish in record time on New Year’s Day, resulting in the immediate closure of the pool to sturgeon retention. Catch and release angling for sturgeon will still be allowed.

Using smaller hooks, avoiding landing nets, and de-hooking and measuring fish in water are three of 15 solutions University of British Columbia researchers recommend to help released salmon thrive.

Oregon and Washington fishery managers set dates and harvest guidelines for recreational white sturgeon retention in pools backed up behind Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day dams.

Creel surveys (where state fish biologists ask for and record information about anglers’ catches) provide critical information for managing many fisheries but can be expensive and labor-intensive.

Oregon and Washington fisheries managers of the Compact gave recreational anglers upstream of Bonneville Dam another chance to catch spring Chinook salmon from the dam to the two-state border.

Recreational anglers will return to the Columbia River to fish for spring Chinook salmon beginning today, May 17, for a total of 10 additional fishing days through June 15, but only downstream of Bonneville Dam.

Oregon and Washington fisheries managers approved 36 days of recreational angling in the mainstem Columbia River from Buoy 10 near the river’s mouth to Bonneville Dam to kick off the 2024 spring Chinook salmon season. Fishing begins March 1 and ends April 5, which is more than a month before the spring Chinook season officially ends on June 15.

The final winner in the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery Program this year received a whopping $107,800 for their efforts to catch the aggressive predator of juvenile salmon and steelhead. Even the second-place angler received nearly $100,000 in winnings with a total catch of 9,786 pikeminnow.

Oregon and Washington this week set 2024 sturgeon winter retention seasons for recreational anglers in the Columbia River upstream of Bonneville Dam, beginning Jan. 1.

Idaho Fish and Game biologists learned on Oct. 10 that Lake Lowell near Nampa now likely has a reproducing population of walleye. While the effects to Lake Lowell and other area fisheries are uncertain at this point, they are concerned about what this might mean for this fishery and others in Southwest Idaho, including the Snake River below Hells Canyon, which is a major migration corridor for salmon and steelhead.

With an updated and higher fall Chinook run forecast, recreational angling for salmon will continue through the end of the year on the mainstem Columbia River from Buoy 10 to the Oregon/Washington border near Pasco, WA.