Southwest Washington Fishing Reports
2002 Report Archive
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WDFW Sport Sampling Results for June 24-30, 2002
Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format

Salmon/Steelhead

• Cowlitz River - Continues to produce a hatchery steelhead per rod for boat anglers from Mission Bar upstream. Bank anglers averaged a hatchery steelhead per every 4 rods last week.
• During the past week Tacoma Power's Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator recovered 391 spring chinook salmon, 175 spring chinook jacks and 669 adult steelhead during five days of separator operations. Between June 24 and June 28, Tacoma Power employees recycled 258 spring chinook adults and 819 summer steelhead adults downstream to the Olequa boat launch. Between June 24 and June 28, Tacoma Power employees released 146 spring chinook adults and three spring chinook jacks into the upper Cowlitz at Lake Scanewa. Between June 24 and June 28, Tacoma Power employees released 149 spring chinook jacks into Riffe Lake at Mossyrock Park.
  
• River flows at Mayfield Dam are approximately 10,800 cubic feet per second on Monday, July 1. Water visibility is twelve feet.
  
• Kalama River - Limited sampling last week showed anglers are catching some hatchery summer-run steelhead.
• Lewis River - Anglers continue to catch hatchery summer-run steelhead. Flows below Merwin Dam were 3,630 cfs today.
• Wind River - Is now closed to fishing for spring chinook. From 400 feet below Shipherd Falls downstream remains open to fishing for trout, including steelhead. Salmon fishing re-opens there August 1. The entire river from Shipherd Falls upstream is now closed to all angling.
• Drano Lake - Is also closed to fishing for spring chinook. Remains open to fishing for trout, including hatchery steelhead. Salmon fishing re-opens August 1.
• Klickitat River - Producing some summer-run steelhead. Flows at Pitt were 1,730 cfs, slightly above average for this time of year.
• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Opened to fishing for adult summer chinook last Friday (June 28). Adipose fin clipped chinook may be retained through July 31.
• Bank and boat anglers below Bonneville Dam were catching some summer chinook. Bank anglers from Kalama downstream averaged a hatchery steelhead per every 8.3 rods last week based on incomplete trips. They were also catching a few summer chinook.
• Salmonid effort was high during last Saturday's (June 29) flight. A total of 450 boats were counted from Bonneville downstream. In addition, over 500 bank anglers were counted on both the Washington and Oregon sand bars.
• Through June 30, a total of 84,711 adult summer chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam. This compares to the recent 10-year average of 15,800.
• Flows below Bonneville Dam were a high 372,400 cfs this morning with 3.5 feet of visibility. Water temperature was 63 degrees.
• Bonneville Pool - Remains open to fishing for hatchery steelhead and chinook jacks. Bank anglers were catching a few steelhead and releasing some adult summer chinook.
• The Dalles Pool - Also remains open to fishing for hatchery steelhead and chinook jacks. No salmonid catch was observed there last week.
• John Day Pool - Open to fishing for hatchery steelhead and chinook jacks although no salmonid effort was observed there last week.

Sturgeon

• Ports of Chinook and Ilwaco - About 80% of the charter boat anglers caught their one-fish limits while private boaters averaged a legal kept per every 3 rods last week. Almost 500 private and 30 charter boats were counted last Saturday (June 29) during the SW. Anglers derby.
• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers at Deep River averaged a legal per boat last week based on complete trips. Bank anglers from Chinook to Knappton averaged a legal per every 7.7 rods based on incomplete trips. A few legals are also being caught off the bank below Bonneville Dam.
• Bonneville Pool - Bank anglers were catching a few legal sized fish.
• The Dalles Pool - Effort and catches increased last week. Boat anglers averaged a legal per every 4.4 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 6.2 rods.
• John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish.
  

Walleye, Bass and other warmwater fish

• Bonneville Pool - No effort was observed for walleye and little was observed for bass.
• The Dalles Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged over a walleye per rod last week while bank anglers averaged over 6 bass per rod.
• John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged about ½ walleye per rod and just over a bass per rod.
  

Trout

• Mayfield Lake - Bank and boat anglers continue to catch rainbow trout.
• Riffe Lake - Anglers are catching a variety of landlocked coho, steelhead, cutthroat, and chinook. The reservoir was reported one foot below full pool today.
• Lake Scanewa (Cowlitz Falls Reservoir) - Scheduled to be planted with 5,000 catchable size rainbows this week.

Shad

• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam averaged 4.2 shad per rod last week based on incomplete trips while boat anglers averaged 8.4 per rod based on complete trips. Bank angers at Steamboat Landing are catching a few shad but angling has slowed for boat anglers in the Camas/Washougal area.
• Over three million shad have been counted at Bonneville Dam, a new record count. However, shad counts are falling with less than 35,000 fish counted during each of the last four days.