WDFW Sport Sampling Results: April 29, 2007 Latest Southwest Washington Sport Sampling Summaries [PDF Format] Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Bank anglers on the lower Cowlitz are catching some adult and jack spring chinook plus sturgeon. Last week Tacoma Power recovered 230 spring chinook adults, eleven chinook jacks, 166 winter-run steelhead, five summer-run steelhead (the first of the season) and one cutthroat trout at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator during five days of operations. River flows at Mayfield Dam are approximately 6,600 cubic feet per second on Monday, April 30. On Wednesday, May 2 flows will be increased to approximately 8,000 cubic feet per second for a 12-hour period. Currently the water visibility is four feet. Kalama River - Boat anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 3 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 6 rods. Catch was better earlier last week. Early morning has been productive. Drift boat traffic has been heavy at times. A few hatchery summer run steelhead are also appearing in the catch. Lewis River - Boat anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 4 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 6 rods. Catch is primarily focused at the mouth and near the salmon hatchery. Flows below Merwin Dam are 2,750 cfs today, a little more than half of the long-term mean for the date. Wind River - Boat anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 6 rods. Effort has remained relatively light for this time of year with 20-40 boats most days. Some fish were being caught from the bank at the mouth but effort is light in the gorge. Ten fish had been counted at the Shipherd Falls trap through April 27. Drano Lake - Bank and boat anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 6.5 rods. 75 boats were counted on Thursday April 26. White Salmon River - Light effort at the mouth. Some reports of spring chinook being caught occasionally. Klickitat River - A spring chinook was reported caught but not found in the sample. Flows at Pitt were 2,140 cfs today, the long-term mean for this date. Bonneville Pool - Bank anglers are catching some spring chinook. The first shad of the year was counted at Bonneville Dam on April 25. Jack spring chinook counts through April 29 (1,100 fish) at the dam are off to the fastest start since 2003 (1,500 fish). The Dalles Pool - Effort and catch is increasing. About 60 boats were counted yesterday (Sunday April 29) morning. However, most boats were blown off the water by late afternoon. Boat and bank anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 4 rods. John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 7 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 12 rods. Bank anglers were also catching some steelhead. The area above Bonneville Dam (Bonneville to McNary Dam excluding salmon angling from a boat and from the Washington shore between Bonneville Dam and Tower Island power lines) is extended through May 3, 2007. A Joint/Staff hearing is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Wednesday May 2 via telephone conference to review ongoing recreational fisheries. The upriver spring Chinook count through April 24 at Bonneville Dam totaled 15,003 spring Chinook. Based on the recent 10-year average, about 37% of the run has passed by this date. Late timed runs are 15% complete. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) met April 25 to review the stock status of upriver spring Chinook. TAC believes the run is tracking late, but appears to be approaching a pattern more consistent with a normal timed run. Although TAC did not update the run, TAC feels the preseason forecast of 78,500 fish is still within the bounds of possible run sizes. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers at Kalama are catching some legals. Anglers in the gorge were catching some legals just before it closed from Marker #85 upstream to Bonneville Dam May 1. Bonneville Pool - Bank anglers are catching some legals. John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching some legals. Walleye and Bass Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers in the Camas/Washougal area are catching some smallmouth bass. Bonneville Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged 7 bass per rod. In addition, the few anglers sampled did well on walleye. Bank anglers are catching some bass. John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged over 2 walleye and 9 bass per rod when including fish released. Bank anglers were also catching some bass. Trout Klineline Pond - When including fish released, bank anglers averaged nearly 2 trout per rod, a mixture of browns and rainbows. Planted with 3,500 browns weighing 2/3 pound each April 23. Other waters planted last week: Lake Number Species Size Comments Fort Borst Park Pond 3,280 Rainbows Catchables Juvenile anglers only Carlisle Lake 700 Rainbows Triploids Davis Lake 1,280 Rainbows Catchables Plummer Lake 4,032 Rainbows Catchables Siler Pond 1,008 Rainbows Catchables Kress Lake 4,371 Rainbows Catchables Battleground Lake 7,024 Rainbows Catchables 3,000 Cutthroats Half-pounders Icehouse Lake 3,785 Rainbows Catchables 1,000 Cutthroats Half-pounders Little Ash Lake 3,313 Rainbows Catchables 1,000 Cutthroats Half-pounders Swift Reservoir 63,344 Rainbows Catchables Horsethief Lake 12,728 Rainbows Catchables 75 Rainbows Ten-pound brooders Little Klickitat River 825 Rainbows Catchables Juvenile anglers only Maryhill Pond 526 Rainbows Catchables