Southwest Washington Fishing Reports
2002 Report Archive
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WDFW Sport Sampling Results for May 20-27, 2002
Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format

Salmon/Steelhead

• Elochoman - Open to fishing for trout (including hatchery steelhead) beginning June 1. Receives smolt plants of hatchery summer run steelhead.
• Toutle River including north and south forks plus the Green River - Open to fishing for hatchery steelhead beginning June 1. The Toutle system is planted with hatchery summer run steelhead smolts.
• Cowlitz River - Some steelhead are being caught from the I-5 Bridge downstream. Through May 22, a total of 510 adult spring chinook had returned to the salmon hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were 11,000 cfs today.
• Kalama River - Producing hatchery spring chinook and hatchery steelhead. Through May 22, a total of 92 adult spring chinook had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. For the week of May 20-24, a total of 42 wild winter steelhead and 22 wild and 10 summer run steelhead were passed upriver.
• From Kalama Falls hatchery downstream, daily trout (including hatchery steelhead) daily limit reverts back to 2 fish beginning June 1. Kress Lake will receive no more steelhead this season.
• Lewis River - Producing some hatchery spring chinook and hatchery steelhead. Boat anglers on the North Fork Lewis averaged 0.8 hatchery steelhead per rod last week. Through May 22, a total of 467 adult spring chinook had returned to the facilities. Flows below Merwin Dam were 4,100 cfs today.
• Beginning last Monday (May 27), the daily limit on the Lewis River (including North Fork) is 6 salmon, no more than 2 adults. In addition, boats are allowed to fish in the Johnson Creek (located just downstream from the salmon hatchery) to Colvin Creek (located just upstream from the salmon hatchery). The North Fork Lewis River from Colvin Creek upstream to the overhead powerlines below Merwin Dam remains closed to all fishing. This section will open June 16 for hatchery steelhead and August 1 for salmon.
• The East Fork Lewis River from 400 feet below Horseshoe Falls downstream - Open to fishing for hatchery steelhead June 1. Selective gear rules are in effect.
• Washougal River from Salmon Falls Bridge downstream - Open to fishing for trout (Including hatchery steelhead) June 1.
• Wind River - Effort and catch has increased in the gorge area just downstream from Shipherd Falls. Bank anglers there averaged nearly 3/4 chinook per rod last week. Boat anglers at the mouth averaged a chinook per every 3 rods last week. Some chinook are also being caught in the upper river, from Shipherd Falls to the deadline below the hatchery. About 130 spring chinook had returned to Carson National Fish Hatchery through May 22.
• Drano Lake - Boat anglers averaged about a chinook per every 3 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 6.2 rods last week. Effort continues to wane with only 8 boats counted there yesterday (Tuesday May 28) morning. Beginning tomorrow (May 30), Drano Lake will be open to fishing 7 days/week. Through May 22, a total of 443 spring chinook had returned to Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery.
• Klickitat River - Bank anglers averaged a spring chinook per about every 3 rods last week. Through May 22, a total of 133 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Flows at Pitt were a slightly above average 3,040 cfs today.
• Beginning June 1, the section from the Fisher Hill Bridge downstream to the mouth will be open to fishing for spring chinook and hatchery steelhead 7 days/week. The salmon daily limit will be 6 fish, no more than 2 adults. The section from Fishway #5 (just upstream from the Fisher Hill Bridge) to boundary markers at the salmon hatchery will open to fishing for chinook jacks and hatchery steelhead. The salmon daily limit will be 6 chinook between 12 and 24 inches in total length.
• Ringold - Slow but steady harvest of spring chinook last week. Effort was down but catches were up a little from the previous week.
• Lower Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line - Bank anglers are catching hatchery steelhead from Kalama downstream to Cathlamet. Effort had been generally light.
  Sturgeon -
• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - From May 17-24, charter boat anglers at Ilwaco averaged slightly less than ½ legal per rod while private boat anglers averaged one legal per every 3 rods. A few sublegals are being caught by bank anglers in the Cathlamet/Longview area. Effort is increasing with 400 boats counted during the Saturday May 18 flight. Most of the effort was in the estuary and in the gorge.
• Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Anglers are catching some legals in Bonneville Pool. The Dalles and John Day pools are slow for legal size fish.
  

Sturgeon

• No report
  

Walleye, Bass and other warmwater fish

• Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day Pools - Boat anglers in The Dalles Pool averaged 1.5 walleye kept per rod last week, A few walleye were released in John Day Pool and no effort was found in Bonneville Pool.
• All three pools are producing bass with several fish per rod noted for both bank and boat anglers.
  

Trout

• Klineline Pond - 82 bank anglers kept 41 rainbows and 7 brown trout last week.
• Recent releases of nearly one pound rainbows -
  • Battleground Lake - 1,600
  • Rowland Lake near Lyle - 3,335
• In addition, Lake Sacajawea was planted with 3,000 catchable size browns.
• Several streams which open to fishing June 1 are scheduled to be stocked with catchable size rainbows. Those include Canyon Creek (Clark Co.) 6,000 fish, Bird (800), Blockhouse (200), Bloodgood (200), Bowman (400), Mill (400), Outlet (800), and Spring (1,700) creeks in Klickitat County, and the Little White Salmon River in Skamania County (3,500). Skate Creek and the Tilton River in Lewis County will be planted with 15,000 rainbows each from May through September. Actual release numbers and when planted for area streams and lakes can be found on the department's web site. Looks under the Fishing/Shellfishing section for catchable trout weekly report.

Shad

• 40,000 and 70,000 shad were counted at Bonneville and The Dalles dams, respectively, last Sunday
  (May 26). (Note: The Dalles Dam counts are typically higher as some fish go uncounted through the locks at Bonneville Dam).
  Flows at Bonneville yesterday (May 28) averaged nearly 300,000 cfs with nearly 100,000 cfs of that spill. Water visibility was 5 feet.
• A good reference for shad fishing can be found on the department's web site. The address is www.wdfw\.wa\.gov/. Look under the Fishing/Shellfishing section for Shad Fishing in Washington. In addition, the fish counts at the mainstem Columbia dams can be found in the same section.