Kalamabama

More then likely they were counting spawned out fall chinook or early run coho.

It is common practice for WDFW to harpoon these spawned, or what appears to be spawned out chinook and coho to see how many fish have successfully spawned. They also count how many were wild and how many were hatchery spawned fish. They also look and check each fish with a "won" to see if it is carrying a coded wire tag in their head. The reason why you see them "whacking" the fish almost in half is to keep count. Once they cut the fish into half, they know not to count it again. WDFW have done this on the Cowlitz for at least the last 16 years. Hopes this answers your question.

It's good to see that sport fishermen are keeping a sharp eye out on our rivers.

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????