05-05-2005, 10:51 PM
Ocean Fisheries Start up -- Halibut and Lingcod Limits Taken Coast Wide in Oregon and Washington
The weather has finally settled into a more normal pattern for this time of year and fishing is slowly getting back on track. Some areas report fisheries running behind due to lack of rain in March and April, but others are starting up early.
Cover Photo: March limit of lingcod. This group of friends and fishermen including Dale Jackson (lower right) were fishing on the "Miss Raven" south of Newport, Oregon off the Seal Rock, March 27, 2005. Jackson and his entourage get together and fish each year with Newport Charters.
Columbia River: (At Bonneville Dam - 53° F / 170.60 kcfs. Gage 14.49. Visibility at 4.0 feet.
Spring Chinook fishing is currently closed in the Columbia River, but remains open in Portland-area rivers.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials remind salmon anglers that the Clackamas, Willamette and Sandy rivers remain open to angling for hatchery-bred spring Chinook. Rivers in Washington do also.
The reminder comes following the April 20 closure of the Columbia River to sport and commercial salmon fishing until further notice. In closing the season, fisheries officials noted that, so far, this has been the second-lowest year in recorded history for spring Chinook passing Bonneville Dam.
In April a little over 30,000 spring Chinook passed above the dam. Last year in April 104,240 Chinooks moved through the ladder.
The states of Oregon and Washington will regularly review dam counts and may reopen the fishery.
Fall salmon season modifications: The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on April 15 approved the following modifications to the fall salmon bag limits in the Columbia River:
For the recreational fishery from Buoy 10 upstream to Tongue Point, beginning August 1, the two-fish daily bag limit may include only one Chinook.
For the Columbia River recreational fishery, from Tongue Point upstream to Bonneville Dam, beginning August 1, the two adult salmon or steelhead bag limit may include only one Chinook.
Willamette River: (Below Falls - 58° F / 7.77 feet / 15,300 cfs / 5.3 foot visibility). Catch has been spotty and very sporadic for Chinook this year. Several reasons for this have been provided — from seals spooking fish to lower than average flows in March and April. Things should pick up this month, but the on again off again bite will likely be something anglers will have to get used to this season. (See page 20 for sport catch totals to date).
The bite above the falls has been ……
North Santiam River Report by LFN news affiliate Bill Sanderson: The big fish numbers that started coming up the Willamette River ten days ago have continued. As of April 28 (the last day for which counts have been posted) we have 8,254 Salmon and 7,284 Steelhead up stream from Oregon City, with many of those in the North and South Santiam Rivers. This is the first of the season, and those numbers will grow very quickly with good conditions.
Some steelhead and salmon are swimming upstream from the Stayton diversion dams. These fish all came upriver before the start of the big numbers. In a week, fish numbers in Stayton will improve a lot. Fishing has been good anyway from Mehama to Stayton on some days, and there will be excellent days soon.
Fish that have been coming up the river in recent months are spread all the way from Jefferson to Pack
dle Park. It is not unusual to hear of steelhead caught in every river section from day to day. The new batch of fish are working their way up toward Shelburn and Stayton, and will arrive any day now. On the North Santiam, the big numbers may be found below Shelburn today, and they will work on up to Stayton very soon. On the South Santiam, the new numbers have started to arrive at Lebanon Dam.
Water temperatures, clarity, and volume are important to the speed with which the fish move upstream. On one day last week, the temperature was 43.3 degrees at Packdle, 47.3 at Mehama, and 49.1 on the South Santiam. We would expect the fish to go to the South Santiam because of the temperature, but clarity and volume are also considerations. The North has much better clarity and less volume, so some of the fish are ….
Detroit Lake has been filling up slowly because of late snow and rain. The Lake is now only 10 feet below the full summertime level, and the boat docks are floating with accessible ramps. Detroit Lake is scheduled to fill up near the end of the first week of May, but that schedule is flexible because of the variable weather we have. Heavy rains would cause the Lake to fill early, and slight rains would cause a delay. It is very probable (my guess) that the Lake will fill by mid-May.
Sturgeon: Sheilla Cannon at The Fishery (541) 374-8577) said they finally had some of the first keepers of the year brought in the weekend of April 23 & 24.
“Even though the river is closed to boat and bank fishing from the dam to Beacon Rock I don’t expect to see much of a drop in angler pressure,” Cannon said. “It looks like the sturgeon bite in the river below Beacon Rock will continue to improve and that should keep everyone happy.”
Sandy River: (Below Bull Run River - 54° F / 9.29 feet / 1,620 cfs.). Anglers have had fair to good success for spring Chinook and summer steelhead. Rob Brown at Jack’s Snack-N-Tackle (503-665-2257) said the Sandy has been dropping and water temperatures are beginning to rise.
“Spring Chinook are being caught almost daily,” Brown said. “Fair numbers of salmon are available and we expect those numbers to continue to build.”
“Guides fishing the river by boat have been averaging about three salmon per day. Some of the fish are a bit larger than usual, most are running 17 to 21 pounds.”
“As the water warms and drops more Chinook will enter and low water techniques will become necessary for best success. Drifting bobber and bait, and throwing hardware and flies will all be effective during low clear water conditions,” Brown said. “Also, fish will be found holding in the deeper holes throughout the river rather than just in the upper sections.”
Clackamas River: (At Estacada - 50° F / 12.21 feet / 2,230 cfs.). Fishing has been fair for summer steelhead and a few winter steelhead are still available but some are beginning to darken. Spring Chinook have been caught as far up as Barton but not many salmon are available yet. More will be entering later this month.
Over 60,000 spring Chinook pre smolts were released into Eagle Creek at Eagle Fern Park in late March. The early releases came from the Clackamas Hatchery because the hatchery lacked space to house them due to budget cuts. The majority of these fish will return in June 2009 as 4 year olds.
Boat ramp and trail will close as PGE begins fish ladder improvements at River Mill Dam: Portland General Electric (PGE) is making life easier for salmon and steelhead at River Mill Dam near Estacada. Construction is under way on a new fish ladder that will help the species ascend 88 feet to the reservoir, facilitating their upstream journey to spawning grounds in the Clackamas River and its tributaries.
Construction will begin mid-May and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2006.
For the safety of the public and to maintain security at the construction site, PGE will close the River Mill boat launch and the trail that leads from River Mill Park to below the dam on May 4.
PGE is installing a dock at the …….
Nestucca River: Marty Peterson at Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods (503-392-4269) said they are still seeing a few leftover wild winter steelhead, but no summer steelhead or spring Chinook yet.
“We should have some good numbers of fish available later this month in the Nestucca and Three Rivers,” Peterson said. “Right now it’s pretty slow.”
Trask River: Good numbers of early spring Chinook are in the river up to the hatchery and angler success has been good. New this year — the popular Hatchery Hole, located below the hatchery, will ……
Nehalem Bay: Crabbing is improving rapidly due to low rainfall and 80 percent are now in hard shell, May should provide excellent catches. A few optimistic anglers are trolling the bar, but no reports of any fish yet. Barry Eisenman at The Jetty Fishery (503-368-5746) said with the lack of spring rainfall crabbing has started up earlier than usual.
“Bay crabbing has been good for this early. Barring any heavy rains it should continue to improve. Jetty anglers are ……
Yaquina Bay (Newport): Bottom and lingcod fishing continues to be strong in the ocean along Oregon’s central coast. Newport is at the center of all the action.
Chris Olson at Newport Store and Charters (877-867-4470) said it has been absolutely near limit fishing for bottomfish this past month and spring Chinook are now starting to show.
“Anglers are picking up quite a few Chinook, some inside of the north end of the pile and a surprising number of fish on the buoy line and just south of the line,” Olson said. “Most are being found at 30 to 40 fathoms.”
“Ocean crabbing has been extremely good for the past two weeks, bay crabbing recently improved to the point where most are reporting a more consistent catch.”
“Small numbers of herring have been in and out of the bay. That fishery is usually best during the halibut season. Perch fishing has been pretty steady in parts of the bay and slow in others,” Olson said.
Sturgeon fishing in the upper bay and lower Yaquina River is good. Rob Voss at Sawyers Landing (541-265-3907) said more anglers are now targeting sturgeon and they have been doing quite well (see photo page 8).
“We’ve had five fish brought in over the past few days, April 29-May 1,” Voss said. “The sturgeon bite started up around April 1 and its been pretty good ever since.”
“The fish I’m hearing about are being caught at mile marker …..
Central Oregon: Water levels rose slightly on the Deschutes River April 28, possibly due to increased flows in the Crooked River. The bite has remain steady for Brown trout and Rainbows on the Deschutes.
Brandon Bischof of Bischofsflyfishing.com (541-395-2796) said May is typically one of the better months for trout angling in central Oregon.
“During the early part of May we will see hatches of Mahogany Duns and …..
BIGGS - Jim Stroud at Dinty’s Market near Biggs (541-739-2236) said the smallmouth bite has picked up substantially on the Columbia River, but the John Day is slow due to colored water from rains down south.
“Fishing for Catfish has been good on the John Day with the off colored water,” Stroud Said. “Anglers are picking a few ……
Washington —
Cowlitz River: (At Castle Rock - 32.35 feet / 5,720 cfs). Water visibility at Mayfield Dam is 12 feet. The week of April 29 over 670 spring Chinook adults, 16 jacks and 73 steelhead returned to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Fishing has been slow despite good numbers of spring Chinook returning to the hatchery. The weekend April 23 & 24, including fish released, boat anglers averaged a spring Chinook per every 10 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 32 rods. Summer steelhead are also appearing in the catch and at the hatchery.
Tacoma Power employees released 534 spring Chinook adults, eleven jacks and 23 steelhead into the upper Cowlitz River at the Lake Scanewa Day Use area above Cowlitz Falls Dam during the week of April 29.
Lewis River: (At Ariel - 3.27 feet / 3,400 cfs). The North Fork Lewis has shown significant improvement for spring Chinook as of May 1.
Merwin Reservoir: Kokanee fishing has been good, fish are 20-25 feet deep. Anglers report that schools of Kokanee are a little harder to find this year. Water temperature on May 2 was 54° F.
Kalama River: Wane at Prichard’s Western Angler (360-673-4690) said he has seen a lot of happy anglers during the last half of April, many with nice sized springers up to 26 pounds.
“Numerous early summer run steelhead, weighing between 14 and 20 pounds each, have been taken along with fair numbers of hatchery Chinook,” Wane said. “The majority of pressure has been in the lower river where anglers are floating eggs or big Monga shrimp under bobbers with good success.”
“It seems like the bite will peak then drop off for a few days. Were not talking huge numbers, but there’s good opportunity and nice size fish in just about every hole.”
The Wind River and Drano Lake (Little White Salmon River) opened to fishing March 16. The Wind River is open seven days a week from March 16 through June 30 from the mouth to 400 feet below Shipherd Falls. The stretch of river from Shipherd Falls to markers approximately one half mile below the Carson National Fish Hatchery (except the closed area around Coffer Dam) will be open from May 1 through June 30.
Boat anglers did well for spring Chinook at the mouth of Wind River on May 1, reporting 3 to 5 fish per boat. Drano Lake was producing similar results although not quite as good as the Wind.
2005 Access Passes to Shipherd Falls Area Sold Out, Day Passes no Longer Available —
The allotment of 120 angler access passes to private land leading to Shipherd Falls, a very popular and extremely productive fishing area on the Wind River, have been sold and no others will be issued this year according to the new property owner Chess Gunderson.
“One big change this year is that we are no longer issuing day passes, only yearly,” Gunderson said. “The price for the yearly pass has also dropped to $175.00. Last year anglers paid $250.00 for the pass. Access to a nearby section of the Wind River at the lower end of Shipherd Falls is available to those without a pass.”
Gunderson is now leasing out his land, April 15 through June 30th, to the East Siders Fishing Club, a new group that has members in Oregon as well as several neighboring states. The group oversees access at various locations by use of signage and security services, allowing entry to its members while restricting public access.
“Cost for the 2006 season passes is $175.00 a piece,” Gunderson said. “Each pass allows one angler and one guest access to the Shipherd Falls area by way of our property seven days a week.”
Anglers interested in purchasing a pass for the 2006 season can ……..
Drano Lake (Little White Salmon River) is open seven days per week through June 30, except that fishing will be closed on Wednesdays through May 25. Fishing is allowed from the mouth to markers below the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery. Fishing pressure has been moderate with good chatches reported by boat anglers, bank angling is fair.
Deep River and Elochoman River (Wahkiakum Co.) Will likely Open Early to Sport Fishing —
Large numbers of spring salmon are building in the Deep and Elochoman rivers and fishery managers are contemplating opening the sport season early to allow anglers a shot at them. This also includes Lake Scanewa (Cowlitz Falls Res.). These areas are currently scheduled to open June 1. Update 5/4/05: Deep river will open for salmon below the Hwy. 4 bridge effective May 5, 2005.
CEDC facilities managers and WDFW fisheries managers agree that these fish need to be harvested. Select area fisheries on the Oregon side of the Columbia at Youngs Bay, Blind Slough and Knappa Slough are not yet seeing the numbers like in the Deep River, but Chinook are beginning to build in those areas as well..
Returning adults released from the net pen facilities at Deep River are not being harvested, because all select area fisheries on the Columbia River were canceled in mid April due to low passages at Bonneville Dam.
At a recent joint state compact hearing on May 3, fishery managers decided to allow brief select area commercial fisheries at Youngs Bay, Blind Slough and Deep River. They are afraid that if those fish are not harvested they will begin straying into other areas. In fact, many of the salmon currently in the lower Grays and Elochoman are believed to be Youngs Bay and Blind Slough fish.
The Youngs Bay, Blind Slough, Deep River fisheries will re-open to sport and commercial anglers at 12:01 am on May 5, 2005. Commercials will only get four hours to fish Youngs Bay, between the old Youngs Bay Bridge and the new 101 bridge. The Blind Slough and Deep River select area fishers will each get one six hour fishery, 6 p.m. to midnight May 5. Sports anglers should find good opportunity in Youngs Bay and Deep River throughout May, especially if restrictions to commercial fishing seasons continue.
In addition, the Knappa Slough area will only be open to sports anglers. This area will be untouched by commercials, therefore excellent numbers of Chinook should be available. Sport fisheries in select areas will be consistent with permanent regulations listed in the “2005 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations Pamphlet.”
Some higlights of this months issue:
· $10,000 Pikeminnow — Wanted Dead or Alive.
· Shipherd Falls Access Sold Out — Alternate Route Available!
· Pikeminnow — Catch Could Peak Early.
· April Sport Catch Totals For Willamette River.
· Halibut Catch Excellent Coast Wide.
· $1,000 Sablefish Tag Drawing.
· Deep River (Wahkiakum Co.) May Open Early to Sport Fishing.
· Boat ramp and trail will close at River Mill Dam.
· Trask River Hatchery Hole Will Remain Open Longer.
· Big Trout Added to Washington Lakes.
· Feds to Regulate West Coast Tuna Fishery.
To read these reports in full please subscribe to The Local Fisherman News. Yearly online and print subscriptions available - single copies @ $2.50 each.
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The weather has finally settled into a more normal pattern for this time of year and fishing is slowly getting back on track. Some areas report fisheries running behind due to lack of rain in March and April, but others are starting up early.
Cover Photo: March limit of lingcod. This group of friends and fishermen including Dale Jackson (lower right) were fishing on the "Miss Raven" south of Newport, Oregon off the Seal Rock, March 27, 2005. Jackson and his entourage get together and fish each year with Newport Charters.
Columbia River: (At Bonneville Dam - 53° F / 170.60 kcfs. Gage 14.49. Visibility at 4.0 feet.
Spring Chinook fishing is currently closed in the Columbia River, but remains open in Portland-area rivers.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials remind salmon anglers that the Clackamas, Willamette and Sandy rivers remain open to angling for hatchery-bred spring Chinook. Rivers in Washington do also.
The reminder comes following the April 20 closure of the Columbia River to sport and commercial salmon fishing until further notice. In closing the season, fisheries officials noted that, so far, this has been the second-lowest year in recorded history for spring Chinook passing Bonneville Dam.
In April a little over 30,000 spring Chinook passed above the dam. Last year in April 104,240 Chinooks moved through the ladder.
The states of Oregon and Washington will regularly review dam counts and may reopen the fishery.
Fall salmon season modifications: The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on April 15 approved the following modifications to the fall salmon bag limits in the Columbia River:
For the recreational fishery from Buoy 10 upstream to Tongue Point, beginning August 1, the two-fish daily bag limit may include only one Chinook.
For the Columbia River recreational fishery, from Tongue Point upstream to Bonneville Dam, beginning August 1, the two adult salmon or steelhead bag limit may include only one Chinook.
Willamette River: (Below Falls - 58° F / 7.77 feet / 15,300 cfs / 5.3 foot visibility). Catch has been spotty and very sporadic for Chinook this year. Several reasons for this have been provided — from seals spooking fish to lower than average flows in March and April. Things should pick up this month, but the on again off again bite will likely be something anglers will have to get used to this season. (See page 20 for sport catch totals to date).
The bite above the falls has been ……
North Santiam River Report by LFN news affiliate Bill Sanderson: The big fish numbers that started coming up the Willamette River ten days ago have continued. As of April 28 (the last day for which counts have been posted) we have 8,254 Salmon and 7,284 Steelhead up stream from Oregon City, with many of those in the North and South Santiam Rivers. This is the first of the season, and those numbers will grow very quickly with good conditions.
Some steelhead and salmon are swimming upstream from the Stayton diversion dams. These fish all came upriver before the start of the big numbers. In a week, fish numbers in Stayton will improve a lot. Fishing has been good anyway from Mehama to Stayton on some days, and there will be excellent days soon.
Fish that have been coming up the river in recent months are spread all the way from Jefferson to Pack
dle Park. It is not unusual to hear of steelhead caught in every river section from day to day. The new batch of fish are working their way up toward Shelburn and Stayton, and will arrive any day now. On the North Santiam, the big numbers may be found below Shelburn today, and they will work on up to Stayton very soon. On the South Santiam, the new numbers have started to arrive at Lebanon Dam. Water temperatures, clarity, and volume are important to the speed with which the fish move upstream. On one day last week, the temperature was 43.3 degrees at Pack
dle, 47.3 at Mehama, and 49.1 on the South Santiam. We would expect the fish to go to the South Santiam because of the temperature, but clarity and volume are also considerations. The North has much better clarity and less volume, so some of the fish are …. Detroit Lake has been filling up slowly because of late snow and rain. The Lake is now only 10 feet below the full summertime level, and the boat docks are floating with accessible ramps. Detroit Lake is scheduled to fill up near the end of the first week of May, but that schedule is flexible because of the variable weather we have. Heavy rains would cause the Lake to fill early, and slight rains would cause a delay. It is very probable (my guess) that the Lake will fill by mid-May.
Sturgeon: Sheilla Cannon at The Fishery (541) 374-8577) said they finally had some of the first keepers of the year brought in the weekend of April 23 & 24.
“Even though the river is closed to boat and bank fishing from the dam to Beacon Rock I don’t expect to see much of a drop in angler pressure,” Cannon said. “It looks like the sturgeon bite in the river below Beacon Rock will continue to improve and that should keep everyone happy.”
Sandy River: (Below Bull Run River - 54° F / 9.29 feet / 1,620 cfs.). Anglers have had fair to good success for spring Chinook and summer steelhead. Rob Brown at Jack’s Snack-N-Tackle (503-665-2257) said the Sandy has been dropping and water temperatures are beginning to rise.
“Spring Chinook are being caught almost daily,” Brown said. “Fair numbers of salmon are available and we expect those numbers to continue to build.”
“Guides fishing the river by boat have been averaging about three salmon per day. Some of the fish are a bit larger than usual, most are running 17 to 21 pounds.”
“As the water warms and drops more Chinook will enter and low water techniques will become necessary for best success. Drifting bobber and bait, and throwing hardware and flies will all be effective during low clear water conditions,” Brown said. “Also, fish will be found holding in the deeper holes throughout the river rather than just in the upper sections.”
Clackamas River: (At Estacada - 50° F / 12.21 feet / 2,230 cfs.). Fishing has been fair for summer steelhead and a few winter steelhead are still available but some are beginning to darken. Spring Chinook have been caught as far up as Barton but not many salmon are available yet. More will be entering later this month.
Over 60,000 spring Chinook pre smolts were released into Eagle Creek at Eagle Fern Park in late March. The early releases came from the Clackamas Hatchery because the hatchery lacked space to house them due to budget cuts. The majority of these fish will return in June 2009 as 4 year olds.
Boat ramp and trail will close as PGE begins fish ladder improvements at River Mill Dam: Portland General Electric (PGE) is making life easier for salmon and steelhead at River Mill Dam near Estacada. Construction is under way on a new fish ladder that will help the species ascend 88 feet to the reservoir, facilitating their upstream journey to spawning grounds in the Clackamas River and its tributaries.
Construction will begin mid-May and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2006.
For the safety of the public and to maintain security at the construction site, PGE will close the River Mill boat launch and the trail that leads from River Mill Park to below the dam on May 4.
PGE is installing a dock at the …….
Nestucca River: Marty Peterson at Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods (503-392-4269) said they are still seeing a few leftover wild winter steelhead, but no summer steelhead or spring Chinook yet.
“We should have some good numbers of fish available later this month in the Nestucca and Three Rivers,” Peterson said. “Right now it’s pretty slow.”
Trask River: Good numbers of early spring Chinook are in the river up to the hatchery and angler success has been good. New this year — the popular Hatchery Hole, located below the hatchery, will ……
Nehalem Bay: Crabbing is improving rapidly due to low rainfall and 80 percent are now in hard shell, May should provide excellent catches. A few optimistic anglers are trolling the bar, but no reports of any fish yet. Barry Eisenman at The Jetty Fishery (503-368-5746) said with the lack of spring rainfall crabbing has started up earlier than usual.
“Bay crabbing has been good for this early. Barring any heavy rains it should continue to improve. Jetty anglers are ……
Yaquina Bay (Newport): Bottom and lingcod fishing continues to be strong in the ocean along Oregon’s central coast. Newport is at the center of all the action.
Chris Olson at Newport Store and Charters (877-867-4470) said it has been absolutely near limit fishing for bottomfish this past month and spring Chinook are now starting to show.
“Anglers are picking up quite a few Chinook, some inside of the north end of the pile and a surprising number of fish on the buoy line and just south of the line,” Olson said. “Most are being found at 30 to 40 fathoms.”
“Ocean crabbing has been extremely good for the past two weeks, bay crabbing recently improved to the point where most are reporting a more consistent catch.”
“Small numbers of herring have been in and out of the bay. That fishery is usually best during the halibut season. Perch fishing has been pretty steady in parts of the bay and slow in others,” Olson said.
Sturgeon fishing in the upper bay and lower Yaquina River is good. Rob Voss at Sawyers Landing (541-265-3907) said more anglers are now targeting sturgeon and they have been doing quite well (see photo page 8).
“We’ve had five fish brought in over the past few days, April 29-May 1,” Voss said. “The sturgeon bite started up around April 1 and its been pretty good ever since.”
“The fish I’m hearing about are being caught at mile marker …..
Central Oregon: Water levels rose slightly on the Deschutes River April 28, possibly due to increased flows in the Crooked River. The bite has remain steady for Brown trout and Rainbows on the Deschutes.
Brandon Bischof of Bischofsflyfishing.com (541-395-2796) said May is typically one of the better months for trout angling in central Oregon.
“During the early part of May we will see hatches of Mahogany Duns and …..
BIGGS - Jim Stroud at Dinty’s Market near Biggs (541-739-2236) said the smallmouth bite has picked up substantially on the Columbia River, but the John Day is slow due to colored water from rains down south.
“Fishing for Catfish has been good on the John Day with the off colored water,” Stroud Said. “Anglers are picking a few ……
Washington —
Cowlitz River: (At Castle Rock - 32.35 feet / 5,720 cfs). Water visibility at Mayfield Dam is 12 feet. The week of April 29 over 670 spring Chinook adults, 16 jacks and 73 steelhead returned to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Fishing has been slow despite good numbers of spring Chinook returning to the hatchery. The weekend April 23 & 24, including fish released, boat anglers averaged a spring Chinook per every 10 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 32 rods. Summer steelhead are also appearing in the catch and at the hatchery.
Tacoma Power employees released 534 spring Chinook adults, eleven jacks and 23 steelhead into the upper Cowlitz River at the Lake Scanewa Day Use area above Cowlitz Falls Dam during the week of April 29.
Lewis River: (At Ariel - 3.27 feet / 3,400 cfs). The North Fork Lewis has shown significant improvement for spring Chinook as of May 1.
Merwin Reservoir: Kokanee fishing has been good, fish are 20-25 feet deep. Anglers report that schools of Kokanee are a little harder to find this year. Water temperature on May 2 was 54° F.
Kalama River: Wane at Prichard’s Western Angler (360-673-4690) said he has seen a lot of happy anglers during the last half of April, many with nice sized springers up to 26 pounds.
“Numerous early summer run steelhead, weighing between 14 and 20 pounds each, have been taken along with fair numbers of hatchery Chinook,” Wane said. “The majority of pressure has been in the lower river where anglers are floating eggs or big Monga shrimp under bobbers with good success.”
“It seems like the bite will peak then drop off for a few days. Were not talking huge numbers, but there’s good opportunity and nice size fish in just about every hole.”
The Wind River and Drano Lake (Little White Salmon River) opened to fishing March 16. The Wind River is open seven days a week from March 16 through June 30 from the mouth to 400 feet below Shipherd Falls. The stretch of river from Shipherd Falls to markers approximately one half mile below the Carson National Fish Hatchery (except the closed area around Coffer Dam) will be open from May 1 through June 30.
Boat anglers did well for spring Chinook at the mouth of Wind River on May 1, reporting 3 to 5 fish per boat. Drano Lake was producing similar results although not quite as good as the Wind.
2005 Access Passes to Shipherd Falls Area Sold Out, Day Passes no Longer Available —
The allotment of 120 angler access passes to private land leading to Shipherd Falls, a very popular and extremely productive fishing area on the Wind River, have been sold and no others will be issued this year according to the new property owner Chess Gunderson.
“One big change this year is that we are no longer issuing day passes, only yearly,” Gunderson said. “The price for the yearly pass has also dropped to $175.00. Last year anglers paid $250.00 for the pass. Access to a nearby section of the Wind River at the lower end of Shipherd Falls is available to those without a pass.”
Gunderson is now leasing out his land, April 15 through June 30th, to the East Siders Fishing Club, a new group that has members in Oregon as well as several neighboring states. The group oversees access at various locations by use of signage and security services, allowing entry to its members while restricting public access.
“Cost for the 2006 season passes is $175.00 a piece,” Gunderson said. “Each pass allows one angler and one guest access to the Shipherd Falls area by way of our property seven days a week.”
Anglers interested in purchasing a pass for the 2006 season can ……..
Drano Lake (Little White Salmon River) is open seven days per week through June 30, except that fishing will be closed on Wednesdays through May 25. Fishing is allowed from the mouth to markers below the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery. Fishing pressure has been moderate with good chatches reported by boat anglers, bank angling is fair.
Deep River and Elochoman River (Wahkiakum Co.) Will likely Open Early to Sport Fishing —
Large numbers of spring salmon are building in the Deep and Elochoman rivers and fishery managers are contemplating opening the sport season early to allow anglers a shot at them. This also includes Lake Scanewa (Cowlitz Falls Res.). These areas are currently scheduled to open June 1. Update 5/4/05: Deep river will open for salmon below the Hwy. 4 bridge effective May 5, 2005.
CEDC facilities managers and WDFW fisheries managers agree that these fish need to be harvested. Select area fisheries on the Oregon side of the Columbia at Youngs Bay, Blind Slough and Knappa Slough are not yet seeing the numbers like in the Deep River, but Chinook are beginning to build in those areas as well..
Returning adults released from the net pen facilities at Deep River are not being harvested, because all select area fisheries on the Columbia River were canceled in mid April due to low passages at Bonneville Dam.
At a recent joint state compact hearing on May 3, fishery managers decided to allow brief select area commercial fisheries at Youngs Bay, Blind Slough and Deep River. They are afraid that if those fish are not harvested they will begin straying into other areas. In fact, many of the salmon currently in the lower Grays and Elochoman are believed to be Youngs Bay and Blind Slough fish.
The Youngs Bay, Blind Slough, Deep River fisheries will re-open to sport and commercial anglers at 12:01 am on May 5, 2005. Commercials will only get four hours to fish Youngs Bay, between the old Youngs Bay Bridge and the new 101 bridge. The Blind Slough and Deep River select area fishers will each get one six hour fishery, 6 p.m. to midnight May 5. Sports anglers should find good opportunity in Youngs Bay and Deep River throughout May, especially if restrictions to commercial fishing seasons continue.
In addition, the Knappa Slough area will only be open to sports anglers. This area will be untouched by commercials, therefore excellent numbers of Chinook should be available. Sport fisheries in select areas will be consistent with permanent regulations listed in the “2005 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations Pamphlet.”
Some higlights of this months issue:
· $10,000 Pikeminnow — Wanted Dead or Alive.
· Shipherd Falls Access Sold Out — Alternate Route Available!
· Pikeminnow — Catch Could Peak Early.
· April Sport Catch Totals For Willamette River.
· Halibut Catch Excellent Coast Wide.
· $1,000 Sablefish Tag Drawing.
· Deep River (Wahkiakum Co.) May Open Early to Sport Fishing.
· Boat ramp and trail will close at River Mill Dam.
· Trask River Hatchery Hole Will Remain Open Longer.
· Big Trout Added to Washington Lakes.
· Feds to Regulate West Coast Tuna Fishery.
To read these reports in full please subscribe to The Local Fisherman News. Yearly online and print subscriptions available - single copies @ $2.50 each.
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OR & WA Report by The Local Fisherman News
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