Creel Survey
March 16, 2009
Contributed by Joe Hymer

Latest Southwest Washington Sport Sampling Summaries [PDF Format]

Salmon/Steelhead

Kalama River - 4 bank anglers kept 1 steehead and released one.

Lewis River - About half dozen bank anglers around the salmon hatchery had no catch.

Wind River and Drano Lake - Open to fishing for hatchery chinook and hatchery steelhead. Expect slow fishing until more chinook cross Bonneville Dam.

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Good early last week with some days a fish per every other boat in the Vancouver area. However, it then slowed but has picked up again in the last couple days.

Last week we sampled 547 boats/1,148 anglers with 66 chinook and 307 bank anglers with 3 chinook. 59 (89.4%) of the fish caught were kept. 50 (89.3%) of the 56 fish sampled were upriver stock based on Visual Stock Identification.

340 boats and 258 bank anglers were counted during the Thursday March 12 flight.

Buoy 10 to Hayden Island west power line towers - Open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays only through April 18.

Bonneville Pool - No effort.

The Dalles and John Day pools - Some steelhead are being caught in each pool.

The mainstem Columbia River from the Tower Island power lines (located about 6 miles below The Dalles Dam) in Bonneville Pool upstream to McNary Dam, plus the Washington bank between Bonneville Dam and the Tower Island power lines is open to fishing for salmon, steelhead and shad is open 7 days per week through April. The daily salmonid limit is 6 fish, no more than 2 adult salmon or steelhead, or one of each. Release wild Chinook and wild steelhead.

Expect slow fishing until more chinook cross Bonneville Dam. Through March 13, only 19 adult chinook had been counted at the dam; recent 10-year average is almost 500 fish.

Sturgeon

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Slow for legal size fish. Only 11 boats and 8 bank anglers were counted during last Thursday's flight.

Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Bank and boat anglers are catching some legals. Through February, an estimated 184 (26%) of the 700 fish guideline had been taken in Bonneville Pool and 104 (35%) of the 300 fish guideline had been taken in The Dalles Pool..

John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching some legals.

Walleye and Bass

Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Walleye are being caught in all three pools. Some bass are being caught in John Day Pool.

Trout

Klineline Pond - 38 bank anglers kept 7 rainbows. Planted with 1,000 half-pound rainbows March 9.

Battleground Lake - Planted with 2,000 half-pound rainbows March 9.

Smelt

Nothing new since last Thursday's report.