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Snake River Anglers Cashing In on Pikeminnow Reward Fishery by Rich Landers Spokesman-Review, August 25, 2012

FISHING -- The Lewiston Greenbelt area has been the hotspot the past two weeks for anglers cashing in on the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery on the Snake and Columbia rivers.

Harvest reports for Aug. 13-19 show 1,350 pikeminnows turned in to the Greenbelt check station by anglers for cash rewards in the program funded by the Bonneville Power Adminstration.

The next best total was 752 from Cascade Locks. Boyer Park south of Colfax has been hot, dropped to 399 this week.

The Dalles Boat Basin was by far the best producing area in June and early July, but the catch has dramatically delcined there in the past month.The total catch turned in to the 21 check stations on the two rivers that week was 6,733 pikeminnows from 939 anglers, for a rate of 7.2 fish per angler, up from 6.7 the previous week.

From May through Sept. 30, registered anglers are paid $4-$8 per fish in a program to curb the number the fish, which prey on young salmon and steelhead.

As of last week, 17,793 anglers had turned in 103,506 fish. Including bonuses for catching pikeminnows that have been tagged, some anglers have earned more than $60,000 in five months of fishing.

Info: Pikeminnow Reward Program, (800) 858-9015.