Southwest Washington Fishing Reports
2002 Report Archive
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WDFW Sport Sampling Results for June 3-9, 2002
Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format

Salmon/Steelhead

• Cowlitz River - Anglers continue to catch some spring chinook and hatchery summer-run steelhead. Bank anglers are catching steelhead throughout the river; boat anglers are doing best in the Blue Creek area. Overall, boat anglers averaged over ½ hatchery steelhead per rod last week.
• During the past week Tacoma Power's Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator recovered 221 spring chinook salmon, 31 spring chinook jacks and 238 adult steelhead during five days of separator operations.
• Between June 5 and June 7, Tacoma Power employees recycled 124 spring chinook adults, 25 spring chinook jacks and 237 steelhead adults downstream to the Olequa boat launch.
• Between June 6 and June 7, Tacoma Power employees released 29 spring chinook adults, two spring chinook jacks and six adult steelhead into the Cispus River above the mouth of Yellowjacket Creek.
• On June 7, fourteen spring chinook jacks were released into Riffe Lake at Mossyrock Park. River flows at Mayfield Dam are approximately 10,700 cubic feet per second on Monday June 10. Water visibility is nine feet.
• Lewis River - Anglers are catching some spring chinook and hatchery summer-run steelhead. Through today (June 10), 1,300 hatchery summer-run steelhead have been recycled downstream. Flows below Merwin Dam were 3,310 cfs today, about half of last week's flows.
• Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through June 6, a total of 175 hatchery summer run steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery.
• Wind River - Spring chinook continue to be caught throughout the river. Effort continues to decrease below Shipherd Falls but has increased in the Milepost 7 area near Stabler. Bank anglers from the coffer dam to below the hatchery averaged about 3/4 chinook per rod last week. Nearly 3,000 spring chinook had returned to Carson National Fish Hatchery through last Friday.
• Drano Lake - Anglers continue to catch some spring chinook though effort is light. A total of 1,273 spring chinook had returned to Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery through last Friday.
• Klickitat River - Bank anglers below Fish Hill Bridge continue to catch some chinook, some of which are extremely bright. Through today, 365 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. The escapement goal is 500 fish. Flows at Pitt today were 1,960 cfs, just below average for the date.
• Lower Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line - Bank anglers are catching fairly good numbers of hatchery summer-run steelhead. Best fishing has been from Longview downstream. Beginning June 16, the mainstem Columbia from the I-5 Bridge upstream to the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco opens to fishing for trout (including hatchery steelhead) plus chinook jacks. Adult chinook (greater than 24 inches in length) must be released.
• Kalama - 06/02-06/08: Bank- 161 anglers, 10 hatchery steelhead and 13 ad clip springers kept, Boats- 57 anglers, 6 hatchery steelhead and 4 ad clip springers kept, 1 wild steelhead released. For the week of June 3-7, 5 wild winter steelhead passed upriver and 13 wild and 16 hatchery summer steelhead passed upriver.

Sturgeon

• Ports of Chinook/Ilwaco - Though only limited information is currently available, private boat anglers averaged nearly 0.6 legal per rod while charter boaters averaged nearly 0.9 when counting legals released. Some charter boats limited in little over an hour of fishing. Effort continues to increase with 360 private and 20 charter boats counted in the estuary last Saturday (June 8). All total, 565 sturgeon boats were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream. Nearly 300 shad anglers were counted off the bank at Hamilton Island and 238 salmonid anglers were counted on Washington sand bars from Vancouver downstream during the same flight.
• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank and boat anglers continue to catch fish in the estuary. At Deep River ramp on Saturday June 8, boat anglers averaged a legal per boat. Bank anglers were also catching legals between Chinook and Knappton. Bank anglers were also catching a few legals just below Bonneville Dam.
• Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Bank anglers are catching some legals in Bonneville and The Dalles pool. Fishing is slow for legal size fish in John Day Pool.
  

Walleye, Bass and other warmwater fish

• Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Including fish released, boat anglers in John Day Pool averaged slightly better than a walleye per rod last week. Bass are being caught in The Dalles and John Day pools.
  

Trout

• Klineline Pond - Bank anglers averaged a trout per rod last week.
• Mayfield Lake - Fishing pressure was light at mid-week last week.
• Riffe Lake - Bank and boat anglers are catching primarily landlocked coho with a few steelhead (smolts and adults) plus cutthroats added to the mix. The reservoir was reported 2 feet below full pool today. The boat ramps at Mossyrock, Kosmos, and Taidnapum parks are useable.
• Last week's plants of catchable size rainbows:
  • Battleground Lake - 2,100 fish;
  • Klineline Pond - 1,688 fish;
  • Horsethief Lake - 3,940 fish;
  • Rowland Lake near Lyle - 2,229 fish;
  • Spearfish Lake near Dallesport - 2,272 fish

Shad

• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Last week, bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam averaged 5.8 shad per rod based mainly on incomplete trips. The few boat anglers sampled in the Bonneville area averaged over 20 shad per rod while boat anglers at Washougal averaged 9.3 per rod based on complete trips. At Steamboat Landing in Washougal, bank anglers fishing off the dock averaged about a shad per rod.
• Nearly 1.2 million shad had been counted at Bonneville Dam through June 9. Yesterday's (June 9) count was nearly 218,000 fish.