Salmon/Steelhead

Cowlitz River - Counting fish released, boat anglers at Blue Creek averaged nearly 1.5 steelhead per rod last week. Two spring chinook had returned to Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery through March 6.

On Monday March 11, Tacoma Power employees transported eleven steelhead adults to the Tilton River at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton, and they released 28 steelhead adults into the upper Cowlitz River at Lake Scanewa.
During the past week Tacoma Power employees recycled a total of 29 steelhead downstream to the Olequa boat launch. River flows at Mayfield Dam are approximately 7,570 cubic feet per second on Monday, March 18. Water visibility is over four feet.

Lewis River - Light effort and catches. Flows below Merwin Dam were 6,500 cfs this morning.

Wind River - Boat anglers reportedly caught a couple spring chinook on the opener Saturday. Just a handful of boats over the weekend.

Drano Lake - About 20 boats on the opener Saturday with no reported catch. Only a couple boats there Sunday.

White Salmon River - No effort over the weekend.

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Pretty heavy effort and fairly good catch of hatchery spring chinook off the bank just below Bonneville Dam last weekend. About 150 bank rods there on opener Saturday. Increasing catch of spring chinook in the clear Columbia water near Vancouver. Overall, boat and bank anglers averaging a spring chinook kept or released per every 13.6 rods last week.

A total of 76 and 65 adult spring chinook were counted at Bonneville Dam last Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Flows at Bonneville Dam were 133,000 cfs yesterday and water visibility was 6 feet.

Bonneville Pool - Little effort for hatchery steelhead. Remains closed to fishing for salmon.

The Dalles and John Day pools - Including fish released, anglers averaged slightly better than 1/3 steelhead per rod last week. No spring chinook were sampled last weekend.

Sturgeon

Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers are catching some legals from Longview to Vancouver. Effort and catch has been light from the bank.

Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 4 rods last week. Fishing was slow from the bank. Through February, an estimated 383 fish of the 1,520 sturgeon guideline had been taken.

The Dalles Pool - Slow for legal size fish last week. Through February, an estimated 116 fish of the 700 sturgeon guideline had been taken.

John Day Pool - Slow for legal size fish last week. Through February, an estimated 10 of the 165 sturgeon guideline had been taken.

Walleye and Bass -

Bonneville Pool - No effort was found for either specie there last week.

The Dalles Pool - Boaters averaged ½ walleye per rod based on the few anglers sampled last week. No effort for bass was found.

John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged a walleye per every 10 rods last week. Some bass are also being caught.

Trout -

Klineline Pond - Including fish released, bank anglers averaged nearly 4 fish per rod last week. Mixture of rainbows and brown trout in the catch. The pond was planted with 2,000 rainbows and 4,000 browns averaging about ½ pound each last week.

Other waters planted with ½ trout last week:

Battleground Lake - 3,000 rainbows
Lacamas Lake near Camas - 7,500 browns and 5,000 rainbows

Smelt -

Report should be available mid week.