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Columbia Above Bonneville Reopens to Keeping Chinook by Staff Statesman Journal, September 30, 2006

Anglers fishing the Columbia River upstream from Bonneville Dam can keep chinook salmon again, beginning today.

Officials with the Oregon and Washington departments of Fish and Wildlife jointly announced the decision.

You can keep chinook adults and jacks in the Columbia from Bonneville Dam upstream to the Highway 395 Bridge in Pasco, Wash.

In mid-September, the combination of a reduced run size and higher-than-expected August catches resulted in the closing that section of the river to keeping chinook.

But in the past week, run-size updates and better-than-expected daily counts at Bonneville Dam have allowed officials to reopen catch-and-keep fishing for the highly prized salmon.

The Columbia River above Bonneville Dam is also open for keeping hatchery adipose fin-clipped steelhead and coho except that non-adipose fin-clipped coho must be released in the area downstream of the Hood River Bridge.

All other rules such as daily and possession bag limits remain the same under permanent regulations.