Once Extinct, Now Re-Introduced Coho Passing Lower Granite Dam In Big Numbers; Fishing Opened On Grande Ronde, Clearwater, Snake

Once extirpated in much of the Snake River basin, coho salmon are making a big return this year to basin tributaries, allowing Idaho and Oregon to open rivers to coho angling. Both states announced this month the opening of coho angling in the Grande Ronde and Clearwater rivers.

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Another Year Of Low Numbers Of Idaho Steelhead Passing Lower Granite Prompts Harvest Restrictions; Clearwater Wild Spawners Expected To Be About 2,500 Fish

With a run of steelhead into Idaho that is one-third of the 10-year average and the third worst run in the last ten years, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is dialing back the number of fish that recreational anglers can retain to one per day and three in possession.

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States Open Lower River To Fall Chinook Retention; Worst Ever Basin Steelhead Returns Extend Deschutes Angling Closure

Oregon and Washington are allowing the retention of fall adult and jack chinook in the recreational fishery downstream of Warrior Rock beginning Oct. 1.

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States Shut Down Most Of Mainstem Columbia River Downstream Of Bonneville Dam To All Salmon Fishing

With a continued higher than allowed catch of lower river tule Chinook salmon, listed under the Endangered Species Act, Washington and Oregon fisheries managers today shut down all salmon fishing below Bonneville Dam, except for coho fishing from Buoy 10 to Tongue Point.

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State Fish/Wildlife Commissions Briefed On In-Season Efforts To Protect ESA-Listed Steelhead During Historically Low Return

Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife staffs say there is little more that can be done to protect the dismally small number of upriver summer steelhead migrating this year in the Columbia River basin short of shutting down all non-tribal fishing, and even that “would not move the needle,” one staff member said.

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Columbia River Steelhead Update: Lowest Return Since 1938 Prompts Oregon To Restrict Fishing In Key Tributaries, ‘Uncharted Territory’

In response to extremely low returns to date of Columbia Basin upriver summer steelhead, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is adopting additional emergency rules to increase protections for wild summer steelhead in central and eastern Oregon Columbia River tributaries.

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Due To Impacts To An ESA-Listed Stock, Harvest Managers Close Buoy 10 Fishery To Chinook Retention; Coho Fishing Continues

Due to higher-than-expected catch rates and unexpected impacts to a salmon stock listed under the Endangered Species Act, Chinook salmon retention on the Columbia River from the Buoy 10 line upstream to the Tongue Point/Rocky Point line will close effective Friday, Aug. 27.

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Amidst Bad Steelhead Returns, Hot River, Harvest Managers Approve Fall Columbia River Fishing Seasons; Recreational Aug.1, Gillnet Days

As the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam warms to over 71 degrees Fahrenheit and with expectations of the second lowest steelhead run since Bonneville Dam was built, recreational angling for fall chinook, the largest remaining run of chinook salmon on the Columbia River, begins August 1.

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Whoa! Angler Smashes Washington’s Tiger Trout Record By 6 Pounds With a Massive 24 Pounder

A massive tiger trout pulled from Loon Lake in northeast Washington’s Stevens County in late June has set a new state record, state fishery managers have confirmed.

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ODFW Implements Emergency Angling Restrictions As Salmon, Steelhead, Sturgeon Face Severe Drought

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is implementing emergency regulations that began July 1 in several angling zones as Oregon faces a severe drought this summer, putting the state’s salmon, steelhead, trout and sturgeon at risk.

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Town Halls Set To Discuss Washington’s Declining Coastal Steelhead Runs In Preparation For Next Season; Follows Early Fishing Closure This Year

With recent and long term declines in coastal steelhead and last season’s early closure to the 2020-2021 coastal steelhead sport fishery, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fishery managers are hosting a suite of virtual public town hall meetings this summer and fall to gather feedback from the public as they prepare for next season.

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Columbia River Salmon Fishing Transitioning From Spring To Summer Chinook; Idaho Sees Improved Wild Steelhead Numbers In Some Waters

Spring chinook salmon fishing is nearly over and summer chinook fishing begins next week. Although it may be difficult to see much of a difference between a spring and a summer chinook at Bonneville Dam, June 16 is the transition date on which all chinook that pass the dam become summer chinook.

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ODFW Getting Ready For Drought Impacts On Streams, Fishing; May Need Emergency Actions To Protect Native Fish

March and April of 2021 in Oregon were among the driest spring months since the 1890s. Many streams are already at 25 percent of the flow that is typical for this time of year, with flows usually seen in early summer observed in April on some southern Oregon streams.

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States Add More Spring Chinook Fishing For Memorial Day Weekend As Most Fish Have Moved Upstream Of Bonneville Dam

Oregon and Washington fisheries managers are adding one more day of hatchery spring chinook angling downstream of Bonneville Dam and two days upstream of the dam to the states’ border, all over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

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Research Says New High-Tech Recreational Fishing Equipment May Pose Risk To Fisheries; Managers Should Assess Impacts

New developments in recreational fishing technology--from the use of aerial drones and social media scouting reports to advances in hook design--are creating challenges for fisheries management and effective policy making, according to a new study co-authored by University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher Andy Danylchuk.

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Oregon, Washington Announce Columbia River Fishing Seasons, Regulations For Summer Chinook, Fall Chinook, Steelhead; Reduced Bag Limits

Oregon and Washington fishery managers recently announced seasons and regulations for 2021 Columbia River summer and fall salmon and steelhead fisheries.

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Washington Sends Proposed Salmon Seasons To NOAA Fisheries For Approval; Reflects Continued Low Runs Of Some Wild Chinook, Coho Stocks

Despite a strong projected coho return to the state’s ocean waters, this year’s Washington salmon seasons largely reflect continued low runs of some wild chinook and coho stocks, especially in Puget Sound, state fishery managers announced yesterday.

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Some Spring Chinook Fishing Allowed In Hells Canyon, Low Returns Make Angling In Grande Ronde, Imnaha Basins Unlikely; Umatilla Closed

Spring Chinook season will open in the Snake River’s Hells Canyon on Saturday, April 24 from the Dug Bar boat ramp to the boundary below Hells Canyon Dam.

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‘Returns Alarmingly Low’: Low Wild Spring Chinook Numbers Lead To Less Hood River Fishing, Shutdown In Deschutes

A poor spring chinook run is impacting angling opportunities in two Oregon rivers. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife set regulations for fishing in the Hood and Deschutes rivers, reducing the bag limit in one river and closing the other due to an extreme low run of wild fish.

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Pikeminnow Reward Fishery Gets Early Opening Trial In McNary Pool; Targets Congregation At Yakima River Mouth

Registered anglers fishing near the Tri-Cities, Washington, can fish and turn in northern pikeminnow beginning April 19 as part of an early opening trial of the 2021 Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery.

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Managing Lake Pend Oreille Fisheries: 240,000 Non-Native Lake Trout Removed Since 2006, Walleye Now Targeted

On the heels of a successful and significant reduction of lake trout in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho is now using some of the same methods – gillnetting and an angler rewards program – it used to fight lake trout in a new effort to reduce the population of invasive walleye in the lake.

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Good Spring Chinook Fishing In Lower Columbia Has Anglers Reaching Quota: No More LR Recreational Salmon Fishing Until May Run-Size Update

Passage of spring chinook at Bonneville Dam is less than 40 percent of the10-year average, yet anglers in the river downstream of the dam had already harvested about 90 percent of their allowed catch of the upriver run of the fish by the end of the early spring fishing period.

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Land-Locked: Though Salmon Harvest Opportunities Limited In Idaho This Year, Kokanee Estimates At Dworshak Reservoir Up 75 Percent

Although harvest opportunities for chinook salmon will be limited this year in Idaho, that doesn’t mean you can’t put some fresh salmon on the table.

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Elwha River Fishing Closures Extended For Fish Recovery; Further Recolonization, Spatial Expansion Needed

The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Olympic National Park, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced an extension to continue recreational and commercial fishing closures for the Elwha River and its tributaries through July 1, 2022.

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Fishery Managers Determine Enough Legal Size White Sturgeon In Columbia River Estuary To Open Retention Fishing Up To 2,960 Fish

Oregon and Washington fisheries managers this week determined that projected abundance of legal size white sturgeon in the lower Columbia River estuary is sufficient to justify opening angling for the fish beginning in late spring.

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