Hoopengarner on Outdoors
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Salmon run looks bright for this fall
Mid-Columbia salmon anglers, who are just catching their breath after a record-busting spring chinook run, are looking at another banner salmon run - fall "upriver brights."
More than 200,000 fall chinook salmon are expected to enter the mouth of the Columbia River this year, with as many as 100,000 likely to spawn in the now federally protected Hanford Reach stretch of the Columbia.
Joe Hymer, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist in Vancouver, said this year's run - which pales against the 300,000 to 400,000 fish runs of the mid- to late 1980s - still is an excellent one and an improvement over last year's tally of 167,000.
"I'd say sport anglers can look forward to a good season with some very large fish," he said.
The Hanford Reach fishery is set to open Aug. 16 from the Highway 395 blue bridge upstream to Priest Rapids Dam. The limit is six salmon a day, but only two can be adults.
However, the peak fishing for these wild behemoths - which should range in size from 18 to 35 pounds - generally doesn't occur until mid- to late September. And, based on current river temperatures, Hymer said 2000 is shaping up as a warm-water year, which could delay the upstream migration. Temperatures on the Snake and Columbia rivers in the Mid-Columbia region already have reached 70 degrees.
The good news is that anglers who fish the lower Columbia River often do well at the mouths of cooler tributaries where fish congregate, such as Oregon's Deschutes River or the White Salmon River in Washington, as well as at Buoy 10 near Astoria.
The lower-river salmon season, from the mouth upstream to the Highway 395 bridge, is scheduled to open Aug. 1.
However, Oregon and Washington are waiting for a federal judge to rule on an injunction filed by the states to prevent the federal government from using Endangered Species Act protection provisions to allocate Columbia River salmon between tribal and non-tribal anglers. At issue is the states' ability to allocate the incidental take of protected fish and set seasons for other healthy stocks after the National Marine Fisheries Service determines the level of protection needed for ESA-listed fish.
"Right now, we don't even know if there's going to be an Aug. 1 salmon season on the lower river," Hymer said. "We're kind of in limbo. We're just hoping the injunction will be ruled on soon so we can proceed with the season."
Fortunately, because the bulk of upriver brights is headed to the Hanford Reach - not the Snake River - the start of Aug. 16 fishery is not in jeopardy, Hymer added.
This year's fall run will be made up mostly of 5-year-old fish, plus a good number of 4-year-olds, which bodes well for next year.
Biologists have determined 45,000 adult fall chinook salmon must pass McNary Dam and reach their spawning grounds to maintain a healthy run. Out of 100,000 adult salmon expected to hit the Reach, anglers usually only catch about 5,000 of the spawners.
As anglers ready for the fall bite, biologists are closing the books on a record-breaking spring salmon season that topped 178,000 adults over Bonneville Dam, making it the largest count at Bonneville since record-keeping began in 1960.
In addition to the 178,000 adults, 21,200 jacks, or immature salmon, were tallied, leading biologists to believe 2001 will be another outstanding season.
Hymer said a record 20,000 adults returned to the Wind River and 10,000 were caught by anglers. At Drano Lake, about 3,000 fish were caught out of the 11,000 that returned. At Ringold, anglers only managed to tag 341 adults as of
July 1, but they did land another 252 jacks and 100 steelhead.
"Based on what we saw this year, next year's spring salmon run could top 180,000 adults, with the bulk of them being the large 5-year-olds," he added.
"Although this is primarily a hatchery-driven fishery, river and ocean conditions have been good the past couple of years and several species of salmon appear to doing well," Hymer said.
- Ken Hoopengarner has been the Herald's outdoor writer for 19 years. He can be reached at 582-1544 or via e-mail at khoopengarner@tri-cityherald.com
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