WDFW Sport Sampling Results: March 18, 2007 Latest Southwest Washington Sport Sampling Summaries [PDF Format] Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Fishing is starting to pick up a little on the Cowlitz. Anglers are catching steelhead at Blue Creek and Olequa. During last week Tacoma Power personnel recovered 180 winter-run steelhead, one cutthroat trout and four spring Chinook adults at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator during five days of operations. Tacoma Power employees released 30 winter-run steelhead and one cutthroat into Mayfield Lake at Ike Kinswa State Park boat launch during the week. River flows at Mayfield Dam are approximately 10,100 cubic feet per second on Monday, March 19 and are likely to remain steady during the week. Currently the water visibility is over two feet. Kalama River- Some wild steelhead (which must be released) are being caught. Lewis River - Some spring chinook are being caught. The first spring chinook of the season, an unmarked fish, returned to the Merwin Dam trap last week. Wind River and Drano Lake - One boat per day observed at each location. Lower Columbia mainstem from the I-5 Bridge downstream - We sampled nearly 1,000 salmonid anglers with 34 chinook and 8 steelhead. Catch was spread throughout the river with improved catches observed in the Cathlamet area over the weekend. Overall boat anglers averaged a chinook kept/released per every 24 rods based on mainly complete trips. We sampled only one chinook kept from nearly 200 bank anglers (mainly incomplete trips). 26 (76.5%) of the 34 chinook caught were kept. Based on Visual Stock Identification (VSI), 18 (69.2%) of the fish kept were lower river stock. Comparison to same periods in recent years: 2006: We sampled almost identical numbers of anglers and fish last year. Bank and boat anglers averaged a chinook kept/released per about every 30 rods. 76% of the chinook caught were kept. Based on VSI, 82% of the fish kept were lower river stock. 2004 and 2005, the boat catch rate from I-5 Bridge downstream was a chinook per every 16 rods. Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Little to no salmonid effort and no catch observed. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some steelhead. Sturgeon Lower Cowlitz River - 17 bank anglers kept 1 legal and released 19 sublegals. 4 boat anglers released 2 sublegals. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Some legals are being caught by boat anglers in the Kalama to Longview area. Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Slow for legal size fish. John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching some legals. Walleye and Bass Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Boat anglers averaged over ½ a walleye kept/released per rod. No effort was observed for bass. John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged a bass and walleye per every 4.5 rods, respectively. Trout Lake Sacajawea in Longview - Planted with 4,308 catchable size rainbows March 13. Klineline Pond - Bank anglers averaged 3.2 trout per rod when including fish released. Planted with 2,800 brown trout averaging just over ½ pound each March 12. 2007 Southwest Washington Trout Plants can be found at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/plants/regions/reg5/index.htm Smelt No sign of smelt in the Columbia or Cowlitz.