Creel Survey
March 2, 2009
Contributed by Joe Hymer

Latest Southwest Washington Sport Sampling Summaries [PDF Format]

Salmon/Steelhead

Cowlitz River - 2 boat anglers at Blue Creek kept 3 steelhead. 13 bank anglers between Olequa and the barrier dam had no catch.

Coal Creek (near Longview), Lacamas and Olequa creeks (tributaries to Cowlitz River) - Feb. 28 was the last day to fish.

Wind River and Drano Lake - The lower Wind and Drano Lake will open as scheduled Monday March 16. The daily limit will be the same as last year - 2 hatchery chinook or hatchery steelhead or one of each. The upper Wind will open May 1. Expect slow fishing until the fish begin crossing Bonneville Dam in larger numbers.

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - A few spring chinook are being caught. Oregon checked a few from their bank this past weekend and we sampled one from a boat in Vancouver last week. A couple fish were reported caught just above the I-5 Bridge on the March 1 opener.

Effort is increasing with 142 boats and 238 bank anglers counted during the Saturday Feb. 28 flight. No spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam through March 2. The mainstem Columbia was low (125,000 cfs) and cold (39 degrees) yesterday (March 2).

Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Little to no effort or catch for steelhead. Opens for hatchery spring chinook March 16.

Sturgeon

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Some legals are being caught around the mouth of the Willamette; slow elsewhere. Effort is fairly light with 41 boats and 19 bank anglers counted during the Saturday Feb. 28 flight. In contrast, nearly 350 boats were counted in the Willamette.

Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Bank anglers are catching some legals; slow from boats. Through February, an estimated 17 (2%) of the guideline had been taken from Bonneville Pool and 69 (23%) of the guideline had been taken in The Dalles Pool.

Walleye and Bass

Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Boat anglers are catching some walleye. No effort was observed for bass.

Trout

Recent releases of rainbows:

• Kress Lake in Kalama - 1,512 catchable size fish Feb. 23;
• Battleground Lake - 6,081 catchable size fish Feb. 20-25;
• Klineline Pond - 1,000 fish averaging nearly 2/3 pound each Monday March 2;
• Lacamas Lake - 4,000 fish averaging nearly 2/3 pound each Monday March 2;
• Maryhill Pond in Klickitat County - 520 catchable size fish Feb. 24

Carlisle Lake (near Onalaska), Davis Lake (Lewis County), Fort Borst Park Pond (near Centralia), Kidney Lake (near North Bonneville), Scanewa lake (Cowlitz Falls Reservoir), Northwestern Reservoir (on the White Salmon River), Rowland Lake (near Lyle), and Spearfish lake (near Dallesport) - Feb. 28 was the last day to fish.

Smelt

Cowlitz River - Some limits were reported caught in the Camelot-Castle Rock area last Saturday. Commercial fishers caught few smelt downstream on Sunday night.

Many sport fishers have been calling and asking about fishing for smelt with hook and line. The gear-type for this fishery is restricted to dipnets only.

Sport dipping is only allowed on the Cowlitz River, from 6 AM to 10 PM Saturdays through March 31st. The daily limit is 10 lbs per person per day. This is equivalent to ¼ of a 5-gallon bucket.

Mainstem Columbia - Reports of about 162 pounds of fresh, new smelt landed on Thursday February 26.