WDFW Sport Sampling Results:
January 3-9, 2005
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Latest
Southwest Washington |
Salmon/Steelhead -
In general -Hatchery winter steelhead returns to Southwest Washington have been a mixed bag this season - some hatcheries are seeing increased returns while others less.
Elochoman River - No report on angling success. Through December 28, a total of 251 hatchery winter steelhead had been trapped. This is just over half the number of fish than same time the previous year.
Cowlitz River - Winter steelhead are being caught from the barrier dam downstream. Boat anglers at Blue Creek fared best with a hatchery winter steelhead per every 3 rods last week. See attached file.
Through the first week of January, a total of 686 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the trout hatchery and 2,241 to the salmon hatchery. Returns to the trout hatchery are about the same as the previous year while salmon hatchery returns are nearly double.
Kalama River - Chris Wageman, Kalama River fish biologist reports "lots of fish, some days good and some not for catching. The hatchery winter steelhead returns to the Kalama Falls Hatchery (KFH) continue to impress. The last week in December and this first week in January saw several hundred fish handled, with 250 fish recycled to the lower river and 40 planted into Kress lake. Season totals into Kress are about 200 fish, while we have recycled close to 700 hatchery winter steelhead downstream.
Usually (9 out of 10 times) the early returning hatchery stock peaks in January, however with such a substantial return already handled it is difficult to estimate more fish returning in January than we have handled to date. The return is already three times above average!
Wild winter steelhead returns are starting to pick up and to date 90 fish have been passed upstream".
Lewis River - No report on angling success. Through the first week in January, over a thousand hatchery winter steelhead had been recovered at the Merwin Dam trap. This year's count is about 1/3 higher than the previous season. However, the returns to the Lewis River Salmon Hatchery ladder through December 22 were 263 fish, slightly more than half the previous year.
Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through the first week of January, over 600 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. This year's return is double the same time the previous year.
Bonneville Pool tributaries - No report on angling success. However, spring chinook forecasts are now available:
Forecast
Actual Return
Pre-season ForecastWind River Drano Lake Klickitat River Bonneville Pool - No effort for salmonids was observed there last week.
The Dalles Pool - Boat anglers are catching some summer run steelhead. No effort observed from the bank.
John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some summer run steelhead. No effort observed from boats.
Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No report.
Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Boat anglers are catching some legals in The Dalles Pool; slow for legal sized fish elsewhere. Sturgeon retention is open 7 days per week in all three pools.
Walleye and Bass -
Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Boat anglers in John Day pool are catching some walleye. Light effort overall in all three pools. No effort observed for bass.
Trout -
Klineline Pond -23 bank anglers with 2 steelhead, 4 brood trout, and 10 catchable sized rainbows kept plus 1 brood trout and 1 catchable sized rainbow released.
Planted with 2,500 catchable size rainbows, 75 brood stock rainbows averaging 6 pounds each and another 75 fish averaging 10.5 pounds each on January 3.
Other trout plants during the first week of January -
Battleground Lake - 3,251 catchable size rainbows;
Maryhill Pond in Klickitat County - 500 catchable size rainbows;
Rowland Lake near Lyle - 13 brood stock rainbows averaging 6 pounds each and 75 fish averaging 10.5 pounds each;
Spearfish Lake near Dallesport - 1,150 catchable size rainbows
Smelt -
No report of any catches other than a handful caught by a couple commercial fishers in the mainstem Columbia earlier in the season. At Bonneville Dam yesterday, the river was a cool 40.5 degrees.
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