Rule Changes for Lower Columbia River Tributaries in Washington

As of last Saturday (22 Sept. 2007), anglers must release any chinook salmon they encounter on Washington's nine tributaries to the lower Columbia River. The Washington Department of Fish Wildlife (WDFW) say the new rule is in effect because returns in the lower Columbia stocks are lower than predicted.

Tributaries affected are the Cowlitz, Lewis, North Fork Lewis, Elochoman, Toutle, North Fork Toutle, Green (in Cowlitz County), Kalama and Washougal rivers, including Camas Slough.

Fisheries for hatchery coho and hatchery steelhead are not affected by the new rule.

At the same time, however, a sudden surge in upriver chinook past Bonneville Dam has prompted fishery managers to restore some retention fisheries for chinook salmon that closed earlier this week.

Based on recent fish counts at Bonneville Dam, fishery managers from Washington and Oregon now expect this year’s upriver chinook return to be about 10,000 more fish than projected earlier this week.

As a result, both Washington and Oregon agreed to allow anglers to retain chinook salmon they catch in the mainstem Columbia River from the Hood River Bridge to the 395 Bridge.

Click here for more information on this rule change.