The two-state Columbia River Compact this week abruptly shut down recreational fishing for sockeye salmon on the mainstem Columbia River as anglers exceeded the limit on the number of sockeye allowed.
Anglers will have an opportunity to retain a white sturgeon on the lower Willamette River the next two Saturdays, June 20 and 27 -- the first retention opportunity in the lower Willamette since 2013.
Idaho Fish and Game has closed the chinook salmon fishing season on the Lower Salmon River effective June 17, and the Little Salmon River effective at the end of fishing hours on June 20.
Brett Jones of Rock Springs Wyoming reeled in a new catch-and-release Idaho record for rainbow trout.
Oregon and Washington denied a staff proposal to open a one-day white sturgeon retention fishery in the Columbia River estuary that would have begun this weekend. Instead, they put off a decision for the estuary fishery – one that usually occurs in the spring – until September.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding off on a proposal to allow more fishing from a boat or other floating device on the Sandy River starting in 2021 in order to reduce interactions between hatchery and wild fish.
Fisheries researchers estimated that over 2.5 million adult kokanee occupied Lake Pend Oreille in the fall of 2019. This is the highest count on record since the mid-1990’s. As summer heats up, reports are starting to roll in that anglers are reaping the benefits of a highly abundant kokanee population.
After two months of closures due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, many of the state’s coastal waters reopened for fishing on May 26.
In March 2019, Idaho Fish and Game kicked off the first year of the walleye lottery program by announcing that $50,000 in reward money was swimming in Lake Pend Oreille. Nearly 200 anglers participated in the inaugural season and winners took home just under $9,000 in prize money.
After a drop in the spring chinook salmon forecast and dire predictions that some hatcheries won’t make broodstock quotas this year, the two-state Columbia River Compact this week shut down mainstem Columbia River fisheries.
An anticipated poor summer run of chinook salmon means no summer chinook fishing this year on the Columbia River mainstem, according to Oregon and Washington. The summer season will be limited to only sockeye and steelhead retention.
After a late start for spring chinook angling on the Columbia River due to Covid-19 closures, Oregon and Washington approved a second four-day fishing period in a hearing Wednesday, May 13.
With fishing reopened under standard rules on May 5, following a statewide closure to help combat the spread of COVID-19, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reminds anglers that a number of emergency rules remain in effect for state waters.
Dustin Shepherd of Lewiston, Idaho broke the most recent catch and release state record for smallmouth bass.
Oregon and Washington fisheries managers reopened the Columbia River along their border for limited recreational spring chinook and steelhead angling, despite continued concerns about the number of people in boats and at public facilities due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week it will reopen some recreational fishing and hunting in a phased approach following the state’s efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus. The department is asking hunters and anglers to enjoy these outdoor activities only if they can do so locally, while also practicing physical distancing.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery will not open on May 1, as originally planned. The fishery is tentatively scheduled to open May 11, for registered anglers with licenses to fish in the Columbia and Snake rivers, says the Bonneville Power Administration, which funds the program.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is reminding anglers that fishing for wild winter steelhead is closed throughout the Santiam Basin including the North and South Santiam rivers.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, in partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation and ODFW, is releasing additional water from Bowman Dam on the Crooked River to study the effects of increased flows in aiding spring chinook salmon and steelhead smolts in their downstream migration to Lake Billy Chinook.
Fishery collapses can be difficult to forecast and prevent due to hyperstability, a phenomenon where catch rates remain high even as fish abundance declines.
Spring chinook season will open in Hells Canyon on April 25 from the Dug Bar boat ramp to the boundary below Hells Canyon Dam, said the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife this week.
As requested by county officials, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham, in consultation with California Fish and Game Commission President Eric Sklar, delayed the start of the trout opener in Alpine, Inyo and Mono counties.
A Post Falls, Idaho man set a new Idaho catch/release record for bull trout, catching the monster while fishing the Kootenai River near Bonner's Ferry on April 8.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council has adopted ocean salmon season recommendations that provide recreational and commercial opportunities for most of the Pacific coast, and are aimed at achieving conservation goals for the numerous individual salmon stocks on the West Coast.
A growing walleye population in Lake Pend Oreille poses a threat the lake’s ecosystem and multi-million dollar recreational fishery. Idaho Fish and Game biologists are concerned that if left unchecked, walleye numbers will continue to increase to the point of collapsing the keystone kokanee population, also hurting growth rates of trophy fish like rainbow trout, bull trout and smallmouth bass.
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