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Columbia River Regional Fishing Reports by Mark Yuasa Seattle Times, September 25, 2012

Salmon and Steelhead

. . .

Buoy 10 - Coho catches approached 1/2 fish per rod at times last week.

Effective October 1, the salmonid daily limit increases to 6 fish of which 2 may be adult salmon or hatchery steelhead or one of each. Salmon minimum size is 12 inches. Release all salmon other than chinook and hatchery coho.

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Last week we sampled 751 salmonid anglers (including 254 boats) with 91 adult and 47 jack fall Chinook, 11 steelhead, 5 adult and 1 jack coho. Overall, 79 (87%) of the adult Chinook, 5 (45%) of the steelhead, and 4 (80%) of the adult coho were kept.

Salmonid effort is way down, especially in the area below the Warrior Rock line where all chinook must be released.

Effective October 1, up to two adult fall chinook (adipose fin clipped or not) may be retained from the Warrior Rock Lighthouse, through Red Buoy #4, to the orange marker atop the dolphin on the Washington shore downstream. The salmonid daily will be 6 fish of which 2 may be adult salmon or hatchery steelhead or one of each. Salmon minimum size is 12 inches. Release all salmon other than chinook and hatchery coho.

Bonneville Pool - High winds last Saturday hampered the boat fishery off the mouth of the Klickitat.

The Dalles Pool - Anglers are catching a mix of fall chinook, coho, and summer run steelhead.

Hanford Reach - WDFW staff interviewed 1,253 anglers from 933 boats with 767 adult Chinook and 260 jacks this past week. An estimated 1,661 adult fall Chinook and 618 jacks were harvested (1.3 chinook per boat). All areas are reporting strong catches, especially for this early in the fishery.

An estimated 3,191 adult Chinook and 1,097 jacks have been harvested through WDFW staff interviewed 1,253 anglers from 933 boats with 767 adult Chinook and 260 jacks this past week. An estimated 1,661 adult fall Chinook and 618 jacks were harvested (1.3 chinook per boat). All areas are reporting strong catches, especially for this early in the fishery. An estimated 3,191 adult Chinook and 1,097 jacks have been harvested through September 16.

The current in-season run forecast for the Hanford Reach estimates the 2012 adult return at 85,500 fish.