Columbia River anglers will get to continue fishing for hatchery spring chinook salmon below Bonneville Dam from March 1 through April 6.
Sport fishing is currently open through March 31 for hatchery salmon and steelhead, but will change March 1 below the dam with Wednesday’s decision by managers in Oregon and Washington.
Upriver from Bonneville, fishing under the same regulations will be allowed April 1-26.
In both areas, the revised bag limit will be two hatchery salmon or steelhead per day, but only one can be a chinook.
As in past years, the spring salmon run’s strength will be assessed by mid-May and additional sport fishing might be approved.
Spring salmon fishing in the Willamette River wasn’t discussed Wednesday and is scheduled to continue throughout the season for two hatchery fish daily with two rods per angler allowed below Willamette Falls through the spring season.
Managers concluded their meeting with a note of caution about low snowpacks and potentially unusual low-water conditions in the Columbia.
That could result in better fishing in clearer water and thus higher catch rates, which would necessitate in-season regulation changes.
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