HOOK AND FUR: Sturgeon anglers must go far and wide

By Bob Brown
With the lower Columbia sturgeon fishery closed, anglers wanting to fish for sturgeon might consider crossing the mountains and doing some fishing in the Priest Rapids and Wanapum reservoirs, where the state wildlife department recently increased the daily limit of sturgeon to two fish and removed the annual limit and requirement to record caught sturgeon on a catch-record card.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) re-evaluated sturgeon harvest rules and deemed them inconsistent with management objectives in both reservoirs. Revisiting the sturgeon harvest rules was necessary to maximize harvest of hatchery-origin sturgeon, officials explained.
Provided below are rules anglers must follow when fishing for sturgeon in both reservoirs:
• Only one single-point barbless hook and bait is allowed while fish for sturgeon.
• Daily limit of two fish between 38 and 72 inches fork length may be harvested from both reservoirs.
• Any sturgeon not harvested must be released immediately. Also, oversize sturgeon can't be removed totally or in part from the water.
• Night closure is in effect for sturgeon.
• In the field, eggs must be retained with intact carcass of the fish.
Anglers are advised all other sport fishing rules governing sturgeon harvest in all other legally open fishing still apply.

River reports

Joe Hymer of the WDFW reported creel checks taken on the Cowlitz River during May 15-21 counted 285 bank rods kept 22 and one jack spring chinook and released two adult spring chinook and five cutthroats. Ninety-four boat anglers kept 28 adult spring chinook and one steelhead and released five cutthroats.
During that week, Tacoma Power employees recovered 315 spring chinook, 34 jacks, 43 winter steelhead and 18 summer steelhead at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Also, from the Lexington (Sparks) Road Bridge upstream to 400 feet or boundary markers below barrier dam, barred hooks will be allowed to fish for salmon, steelhead and cutthroats from June 1 through July 31.
River flows at Mayfield Dam were approximately 14,600 cubic feet per second on May 22 with a visibility of about six feet and temperature of 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hymer also reported there was little to no angler effort on the Lewis River, and fishing was slow on the Kalama.
The Klickitat is open to fishing seven days a week beginning June 1. The daily limit is six hatchery chinook, of which two may be adults. In addition, up to three hatchery steelhead may be retained.
In the Wind River, 227 boat rods kept 52 adult and three jack chinook. Six bank rods kept four adult and one jack chinook.

Chinook downgraded

The Technical Advisory Committee has downgraded the Columbia River adult spring chinook run to 75,000 at Bonneville Dam and 83,000 at the river mouth. The preseason forecast was 160,400 fish to the river mouth.
Though early, only 21 shad were counted at Bonneville Dam through May 14. It is the second lowest number of shad counted at the dam since 1986. The fewest was 16 counted through May 14, 2012.
 
Bob Brown lives in Roy and is a freelance outdoors writer. He can be reached at robertb1285@centurylink.net.