WDFW Sport Sampling Results:
June 4, 2006

Latest Southwest Washington Sport Sampling Summaries [PDF Format]

Please note: Most likely there will not be a report next week as I will be out of the office.

Salmon/Steelhead -

Grays River - Some spring chinook were observed caught on the June 1 opener.

Elochoman River - No catch was observed on the June 1 opener.

Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Hatchery summer run steelhead returns are ahead of last year but spring chinook are behind. Through May 31, almost 200 steelhead and 2,000 chinook have returned to the salmon hatchery. Through the same time last year, 43 steelhead and 4,000 chinook had returned.

Kalama River - Anglers are catching some spring chinook from the Beginners Hole to the deadline below the upper salmon hatchery. Both spring chinook and summer run steelhead returns through May are nearly identical between this year and last with approximately 1,300 chinook and slightly less than 100 steelhead.

Lewis River - Limited sampling last week. Spring chinook returns through May are double last year while hatchery summer steelhead returns are about the same. So far over 3,000 spring chinook and 400 steelhead had returned to the Merwin Dam trap. Last year through the same period, 1,500 spring chinook and 500 steelhead had returned.

Washougal River - No report on angling success. Hatchery summer steelhead returns to Skamania Hatchery are nearly identical between this and last year through May with just over 100 fish both years.

Wind River - Spring chinook are being caught at the coffer dam and the upper river. A total of 952 spring chinook had returned to Carson National Fish Hatchery through June 4. The hatchery escapement goal is 1,200 fish.

Drano Lake - Limited sampling and new information last week.

Klickitat River - Bank anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 4 rods. A total of 175 chinook had been counted at the Lyle Falls trap through June 1 although no fish had returned to the hatchery.

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Light catches of spring/summer chinook but boat and bank anglers from Longview downstream averaged a steelhead kept per every 3 and 10 rods based on mainly complete and incomplete trips, respectively. The 68 boats and 86 Washington and 154 Oregon bank anglers were spread out through the river during the Saturday June 3 flight.

Beginning June 16, any chinook, adipose fin clipped or not, may be retained from the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line upstream to Priest Rapids Dam.

Bonneville Pool - No catch was observed from the bank anglers.

The Dalles Pool - Bank anglers caught some spring chinook.

John Day Pool - Light effort and no catch was observed.

Sturgeon -

Lower Columbia from the mouth to the Wauna powerlines - At the ports of Chinook and Ilwaco from May 29-31, charter boat anglers and Ilwaco private boat anglers averaged 2/3 legal kept per rod. On the Saturday June 3 flight, 325 private and 19 charter boats were counted. The private boats were more spread out than last weeks flight.

Lower Columbia from Wauna powerlines to Marker #85 - Boat anglers at Longview and near the deadline were catching some legals. Approximately half of the 270 boats were found in the gorge during the Saturday June 3 flight .

Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers are catching some legals.

John Day Pool - No legals were observed in the catch.

Walleye and Bass -

Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers sampled averaged 3 bass released per rod. No effort was observed for walleye.

The Dalles and John Day pools - Boat anglers in both pools averaged nearly a legal walleye kept per rod. In John Day Pool, boat anglers averaged nearly 5 bass kept/released per rod. Bank anglers were also catching some fish.

Trout -

Recent plants of rainbows up to 3/4 pound each:

• Mayfield Lake - 12,000 fish from the net pens May 26
• Skate Creek - 1,200 fish May 31
• Tilton River - 1,250 Fish May 31
• Canyon Creek (Clark Co.) - 2,000 rainbows May 31

Shad -

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat and bank anglers below Bonneville Dam averaged 18 and 3 shad per rod, respectively. At Camas/Washougal, boat anglers averaged over 3 shad per rod while dock anglers at Steamboat Landing in Washougal averaged two fish. Boats are mainly completed trips while bank is mostly incomplete trips.

Effort is increasing with 25 boats and 268 Washington and 162 Oregon bank anglers counted in the Bonneville area during the Saturday June 3 flight.

Shad counts have increased since mainstem flows dropped. Yesterday, 100,000 shad were counted at Bonneville Dam, the highest daily count to date this year.

The Dalles Pool - 32 bank anglers kept 134 and released 10 shad.

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