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Columbia River Summer and Fall
Fishing Seasons Announced

by Staff
Daily Astorian, April 27, 2011

CLACKAMAS - Pacific Northwest fishery managers have announced summer and fall salmon fishing seasons on the Columbia River for 2011 following conclusion of the recent North of Falcon meeting process.

The North of Falcon process is a series of public meetings in which fishery managers from several jurisdictions, including Oregon, convene to review data and accept public testimony to plan recreational and commercial salmon fisheries on the Columbia River and parts of the ocean off the Oregon and Washington coasts.

North of Falcon is part of the broader Pacific Fishery Management Council process, a series of international discussions focused on planning ocean fishing seasons from three to 200 miles off the Pacific coast from California to as far north as Canada and Alaska.

The June 16 to July 31 summer chinook season on the Columbia River will be identical to last year, with retention limited to adipose fin-clipped hatchery chinook. Unlike 2010, sockeye retention will be allowed concurrent with steelhead fisheries, scheduled to open May 16 and June 16 below and above the Interstate 5 Bridge, respectively.

The fall seasons, which begin Aug. 1, include the popular Buoy 10 fishery near Astoria and the fall "upriver bright" chinook salmon season in the main stem Columbia. Upriver bright chinook have a reputation for being some of the largest and most aggressive big game fish in the Pacific Northwest.

"The summer chinook forecast of 91,000 is exciting and should result in good catch rates for the recreational fishery," said John North, fisheries manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Ocean Salmon and Columbia River Program. "The forecast for most fall chinook stocks is also good, but our fisheries remain constrained due to available impacts for lower Columbia natural tule chinook."

The 2011 Columbia River late spring, summer and fall seasons are summarized as follows.

Spring/summer seasons (May 16 to July 31):

Steelhead: Per permanent regulations in all areas, retention of adipose fin-clipped steelhead is allowed from May 16 to Dec. 31 from a line projected from Rocky Point on the Washington shore, through red buoy No. 44, to the navigation light at Tongue Point, and upstream to the I-5 Bridge; and from June 16 to Dec. 31 from the Astoria Bridge upstream to the Oregon/Washington border.

Spring chinook jacks: In the May 16 to June 15 time frame, per permanent regulations in all areas, retention of adipose fin-clipped jack chinook is allowed from a line projected from Rocky Point on the Washington shore, through red buoy No. 44, to the navigation light at Tongue Point and upstream to the I-5 Bridge.

Sockeye salmon: Retention of sockeye is allowed from May 16 to June 15 from a line projected from Rocky Point on the Washington shore, through red buoy No. 44, to the navigation light at Tongue Point and upstream to the I-5 Bridge.; and from June 16 to July 31, from the Astoria Bridge upstream to the Oregon/Washington border. All sockeye count toward adult salmonid daily limit, regardless of size.

Summer chinook: Retention of adipose fin-clipped adult and jack summer chinook will be allowed from June 16 to July 31 from the Astoria Bridge upstream to the Oregon/Washington border. The combined daily bag limit is two adults and five jacks.

Fall salmon season (Aug. 1 to Dec. 31):

From Buoy 10 (upstream, to a line projected from Rocky Point on the Washington shore through red buoy No. 44 to the navigation light at Tongue Point), retention of adult adipose fin-clipped coho and adipose fin-clipped steelhead will be allowed Aug. 1 to Dec. 31. Retention of adult chinook is only allowed from Aug. 1-28 and Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. The combined daily bag limit is two adults, only one of which may be a chinook (when retention is allowed). Jacks may not be retained in the Buoy 10 fishery between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30 under permanent rules. All other permanent rules apply.

In the Lower Columbia (Tongue Point/Rocky Point upstream to Bonneville Dam), retention of adipose fin-clipped coho and adipose fin-clipped steelhead will be allowed Aug. 1 to Dec. 31. Retention of chinook will be allowed Aug. 1 to Sept. 9 and Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 from the Rocky Point-Tongue Point line, upstream to a line projected from the Warrior Rock Lighthouse on the Oregon shore, to red buoy No. 4, to a marker on the lower end of Bachelor Island; and from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31 from a line projected from the Warrior Rock Lighthouse on the Oregon shore, to red buoy No. 4, to a marker on the lower end of Bachelor Island, upstream to Bonneville Dam. The combined daily bag limit is two adults and five jack salmon. From Aug. 1 to Sept. 9, the daily bag limit may not include more than one adult chinook. From Sept. 10-30, the daily bag limit may include two chinook (upstream of Lewis River deadline only). From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, the daily bag limit may include up to two chinook.

From the Bonneville Dam upstream to the Oregon/Washington border, retention of chinook, coho, and adipose fin-clipped steelhead will be allowed from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31. The combined daily bag limit is two adults and five jack salmon. All coho retained downstream of the Hood River Bridge must be adipose fin-clipped.

Shad: Per permanent regulations in all areas, retention of shad will be allowed from May 16 to Dec. 31 from the Buoy 10 line upstream to Bonneville Dam, and all year from the Bonneville Dam upstream to the Oregon/Washington border.

White Sturgeon: From Buoy 10 upstream to the Wauna power lines (River mile 40), including Youngs Bay and adjacent Washington tributaries, retention of white sturgeon will be allowed seven days per week during until April 30, May 14 to June 26, and July 1-4. The 38 to 54-inch fork length will be in effect until April 30; the 41 to 54-inch fork length will be in effect from May 14 to July 4. From the Wauna powerlines upstream to the Bonneville Dam, excluding the lower Willamette River, retention of white sturgeon will be allowed three days (Thursday-Saturday) per week from Jan. 1 to July 31 and Oct. 8 to Dec. 31. The 38 to 54-inch fork length restriction will be in effect.

Angling for sturgeon is prohibited from May 1 to Aug. 31 from the Bonneville Dam, downstream to a line crossing the Columbia River from Navigation Marker 82 on the Oregon shore, through the upstream exposed end of Skamania Island, continuing in a straight line to the Washington shore. From Jan. 1 to April 30, angling for all species is prohibited in the area from a line between the upstream end of Sand Island, and a marker on the Oregon shoreline, downstream to a line between the lower end of Sand Island and a marker on the Oregon shoreline.

From the Lower Willamette River upstream to Willamette Falls, including Multnomah Channel, the 2011 white sturgeon retention season is closed, effective March 17. Angling for sturgeon is prohibited from May 1 through Aug. 31 from Willamette Falls downstream to the Interstate 205 Bridge; catch-and-release fishing for sturgeon is permitted in the remainder of the river.

Seasons may be subject to in-season modification.


Staff
Columbia River Summer and Fall Fishing Seasons Announced
Daily Astorian, April 27, 2011

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