THE NEWSROOM
IDAHO
Upper Salmon River Open Through Aug. 9
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission
approved a chinook fishing
season that will run through Aug. 9.
The area that’s open is about
38 miles of river from the posted
boundary at the South Butte boat
ramp near Clayton, upstream to the
posted boundary about 100 yards
downstream of the weir and trap
at Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. About
300-350 adult Chinook are expected
to be available for harvest as well as
“Jack” salmon, which are salmon
less than 24 inches and don’t need to
be recorded on the permit.
Fishing for chinook salmon in the
Upper Salmon River will be open
three days per week; Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday from 5:30 a.m. to 10
p.m. MDT. Fishing will close Aug.
9, or by Closure Order signed by the
Director of the Idaho Department of
Fish and Game.
Bag and possession limits for the
Upper Salmon River are four chinook
daily of which only two may be
adults 24 inches or longer and possession
is twelve and only six of which
may be adults. No person may take
more than 10 adult chinook salmon
statewide during 2020 salmon seasons
occurring prior to Aug. 9.
OREGON
Columbia River Summer Chinook
Fishing Opened
After not having a summer chinook
fishery on the Columbia River in
2019, fishery managers from Oregon
and Washington approved a recreational
season that lasted only a few
days (July 4-8). It was open from
the Rocky Point/Tongue Point Line
upstream to the Highway 395 bridge
in Pasco.
While it was short-lived, it was a
brief highlight in a season that has
plenty of lows.
Fishery managers approved the
season after scientists from the
Tribes, states, and federal government
revised the upper Columbia summer
chinook forecast to 65,000 fish in late
June. The original forecast called for
38,000 summer chinook.
“The run is tracking above what
we expected this year, which is great
news, but we’re still carefully monitoring
these fisheries to ensure we’re
achieving our conservation goals for
all the species that share the river,”
said Ryan Lothrop, Columbia River
fishery manager with the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife
(WDFW).
Sockeye and steelhead angling
is closed (below the Highway 395
bridge) due to ESA take limits on
Snake River sockeye salmon. Managers
estimated that most of the
sockeye will have migrated past the
fishery by first week of July thus
eliminating any impacts on those
fish.
Upriver from the Highway 395
bridge in Pasco chinook fishing also
opened July 4 along the Hanford
Reach from the Interstate 182 bridge
to Priest Rapids Dam, as well as
Priest Rapids Dam to Wells Dam
and from the Highway 173 Bridge at
Brewster to Foster Creek in Douglas
County. The portion of the river
from Wells Dam to the Highway 173
Bridge at Brewster will open July 16.
This later opener helps protect spring
chinook listed under the Endangered
Species Act that migrate through and
hold in that area of the Columbia
River.
The river remains closed to salmon
and steelhead fishing between the
Highway 395 bridge at Pasco and the
Interstate 182 bridge. Sockeye fishing
is open above the Interstate 182
bridge, as Snake River sockeye exit
the Columbia by that point.
The opening dates and daily
limits for the Columbia River are as
follows:
• From the Rocky Point/Tongue
Point line upstream to the Highway
395 bridge at Pasco: July 4 through
July 8, 2020. Daily limit 6 salmon.
Up to 2 may be adult hatchery
chinook. Minimum size 12”. Anglers
must release all steelhead and salmon
except hatchery chinook.
• From the Interstate-182 bridge to
Priest Rapids Dam: July 4 through
July 31, 2020. Daily limit 6 salmon.
Up to 2 adults may be retained. Minimum
size 12”. Release wild adult
chinook and coho.
• From Priest Rapids Dam to Rock
Island Dam: July 4 through Aug. 31,
2020. Daily limit 6 salmon. Up to 2
may be adult hatchery chinook and
up to 2 may be sockeye. Minimum
size 12”. Release wild adult chinook
and coho.
• From Rock Island Dam to Wells
Dam: July 4 through Oct. 15, 2020.
Daily limit 6 salmon. Up to 2 may be
adult hatchery chinook and up to 2
may be sockeye. Minimum size 12”.
Release wild adult chinook and coho.
• From Wells Dam to the Highway
173 Bridge at Brewster: July
16 through Sept. 15, 2020. Daily
limit 6 salmon. Up to 2 may be adult
hatchery chinook and up to 2 may be
sockeye. Minimum size 12”. Release
wild adult chinook and coho.
• From the Highway 173 Bridge
at Brewster to the rock jetty at the
upstream shoreline of Foster Creek
(Douglas County side): July 4
through Oct. 15, 2020. Daily limit
6 salmon. Up to 2 may be adult
hatchery chinook and up to 2 may be
sockeye. Minimum size 12”. Release
wild adult chinook and coho.
The Entiat and Chelan rivers will
also open for Chinook on July 16.
Barbless hooks are required when
fishing for salmon downstream of the
Washington/Oregon border; barbed
hooks are permitted above the border.
WASHINGTON
WDFW Clarifies Ocean Summer Salmon
Fishing Regulations
With recreational salmon fishing now
open in Washington’s ocean waters,
the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife (WDFW) is clarifying
the rules for individual marine areas,
as well as asking anglers to help
ensure accurate catch estimates by
cooperating with fish checkers at
landing sites.
“We had a great, busy first
weekend on the water,” said Wendy
Beeghley, a fishery manager with
WDFW. “But any time there’s a busy
opener like this, anglers often ask us
for some clarification of the rules,
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