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Wallowa County Fishing Rates a Bit Lower than Anticipated by Ronald Bond East Oregonian, December 1, 2020

This will be the fourth year in a row with reduced limits.

ENTERPRISE -- The Wallowa County fishing forecast heading into the winter season is not as bright as what was hoped a few weeks ago.

An email update from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fish biologist Kyle Bratcher showed several of the fish species in the region currently are returning at numbers that are below average, though there are some positives in the forecast.

Bratcher said with the exception of a few "stragglers" that may arrive, the number of steelhead in area waters has likely reached its total.

"The Wallowa stock fish didn't come through the system the way I would have liked them to," Bratcher wrote in the Nov. 17 email. "In September, I was originally projecting nearly 2,500 Wallowa fish to make it over (Lower Granite Dam). Unfortunately, we're coming in closer to 1,500. As anyone fishing on the Grande Ronde (River) this year can attest there aren't a lot of hatchery fish being caught."

Imnaha steelhead also came through at a rate below the average as Bratcher said the number was near his estimate of 1,278 from earlier in the year. The number is below the average, but, Bratcher said, is well above the roughly 850 from last year.

The number of wild steelhead at Lower Granite Dam was a tick above original projection, with just more than 18,000 reaching the dam, Bratcher wrote.

At the Grande Ronde fishery, Bratcher said catch rates were between poor and average, but Bratcher said there were good sizes among those being caught, with several ranging from 27 to 30 inches. Catch rate at the Imnaha, he said, will be lower until February 2021.

Coho salmon numbers are about one-third lower than forecasted, with numbers crossing the Lower Granite Dam closer to 1,400 as opposed to 2,100. Bratcher said the reason behind the lower numbers is unknown.

And the Chinook run, Bratcher said, will finish at about 70% of the 10-year average, with roughly 25,000 Chinook making their way over the Lower Granite Dam.

Related Pages:
Fisheries Managers Forecast 'Unprecedentedly Low' Summer Steelhead by George Plaven, East Oregonian, 5/22/17