Anglers must release adult chinook salmon starting July 1 on the lower Columbia River
Posted June 30, 2017
Starting Saturday, July 1, anglers fishing the lower Columbia River must release any adult summer chinook salmon they intercept under new rules approved today by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon. By then, this year’s recreational catch is expected to reach the 2,656-fish harvest guideline established by those states from the Megler-Astoria Bridge to Bonneville Dam. Anglers fishing those waters can still catch and keep sockeye salmon, hatchery steelhead and hatchery “jack” chinook as outlined in the current state fishing rules. Ron Roler, a fishery manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, says the chinook fishery that opened June 16, below the dam went more quickly than in some years. Washington state fishing rules are posted on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/.