HOOK AND FUR By Bob Brown "Don't look a gift horse in the mouthGÇ¥ is an old proverb that suggests when receiving a gift, be appreciative for what it is. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is not known for generosity, but sometimes the unexpected happens. The department's recent fall salmon regulation changes, scheduled to begin Aug. 1, most certainly should fall into the generosity category and make for some happy anglers. Anglers will be allowed to retain up to six hatchery adult coho on all tributaries to the lower Columbia with hatchery programs. Those rivers include the Cispus, Cowlitz, Deep, Elochoman, Grays (including the West Fork), Kalama, Lewis (including the North Fork), Toutle (including the Green and North Fork), Tilton, and Washougal rivers plus Lake Scanewa (Cowlitz Falls Reservoir). Chinook retention is limited to marked hatchery fish on those rivers except Deep and Klickitat Rivers plus Drano Lake where unmarked chinook can be retained. Joe Hymer of the WDFW reported the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meet July 20 and provided an in-season forecast of 120,000 adult summer chinook and 57,500 sockeye returning to the Columbia River. The summer chinook forecast is the largest since at least 1960, and the sockeye forecast is the third-largest on record. The pre-season forecasts were 73,000 adult summer chinook and 394,000 sockeye. Also, boat anglers should be aware of Oregon 's sport fishing closure at the mouth of Young's Bay that runs from Aug. 1 through Sept. 15. The North Jetty will be open seven days per week when Marine Area 1 or Buoy 10 areas are open for salmon. It should be noted, a saltwater or combination license is required to fish from the North Jetty The salmon daily limit on the Cowlitz , Kalama and main stem Lewis (including the North Fork up to the overhead power lines below Merwin Dam) will be six fish of which no more then two may be adult chinook. Release all salmon except hatchery chinook and hatchery coho. Barbless hooks are required on all three rivers.
The Columbia and Snake rivers Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery continues to be a lucrative program. The first 26-200 pikes a register angler catches are worth $ 6.00 each. 201GÇôup pays $ 8.00 each and tagged fish are worth $500.00 each. During the week, July 13-19 participating anglers (1,042) caught 6,925 pikes .Ten tagged fish were also caught. To date a total of 113,711 pikeminnows have been caught and plus 131 tagged fish.
Other Fishing News:
" Low flows and above average water temperatures continues to plague lower Columbia River anglers; however, boat anglers fishing near the mouths of Columbia River tributaries have been doing fairly well, but it has been slow for bank anglers. Steelhead fishing in the Lewis (including the North Fork ) has reportedly picked up a lot in the past week. " Despite low water levels, summer-run steelhead are being caught throughout the Cowlitz, with Blue Creek the most productive area. Spring chinook continue to be caught at the barrier, but many are dark. Karen Glaser of Barrier Dam Campground is reminding anglers if they catch a steelhead with an orange tag to bring it in as we have envelopes to put them in. Tacoma Power will pick up the envelopes. This is a Tacoma Power program evaluating recycled steelhead returns. The recycling program could be discontinued if not enough tags are returned. During July 13-19, Tacoma Power recovered 208 spring chinook, 43 jacks, 155 mini-jacks and 463 summer steelhead. Also, 283 summer steelhead were recycled at the Interstate 5 boat launch. One hundred and forty spring chinook adults and 41 jacks were also released in the Cispus River above Yellow Jacket Creek. River flows at Mayfield Dam were approximately 3,060 cubic feet per second July 20 with a visibility of about 16 feet. " Doreen Douglas of Mineral Lake Resort reported a lot of trout limits above 12 inches are being seen. Anglers using long leaders (24 to ,36 inches long) sporting mellows or power eggs seemed to be the baits of choice. Night crawlers have also been working during early and late evening hours.
Bob Brown is a freelance outdoors writer and lives in Roy. He can be contacted at robertb1285@ centurylink.net
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