CURRENT REPORT 2008 Archive 2007 Archive 2006 Archive 2005 Archive 2004 Archive 2003 Archive 2002 Archive 2001 Archive 2000 Archive 1999 Archive 2001 Creel Survey Archive WDFW Sport Sampling Results for December 24-30, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Elochoman River - No report on angling success. Through December 26, a total of 760 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the hatchery. Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Through December 26, a total of 1,189 and 2,344 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the salmon and trout hatcheries, respectively. A promising note for adult summer steelhead next year: 547 jack summer steelhead returned to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery this year. Flows below Mayfield Dam were 6,160 cfs this morning. Blue and Mill creeks, tributaries to the Cowlitz River, closed to fishing beginning January 1. Kalama River - Last week, 229 bank anglers kept 52 steelhead and released 16 hatchery and 13 wild steelhead. Also, 70 boat anglers kept 18 steelhead. Through December 26, a total of 906 hatchery and 46 wild winter steelhead had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. All hatchery fish are being recycled downstream. Another promising note for adult summer steelhead returns next year: 205 jack summer steelhead returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery this year. Lewis River - No report on angling success. Through December 26, a total of 1,312 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the facilities on the North Fork Lewis. Flows below Merwin Dam were 6,000 cfs this morning. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through December 26, a total of 505 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. John Day Pool - Counting fish released, anglers averaged 3/4 summer run steelhead per rod last week. Sturgeon Lower Columbia - No report on angling success. Bonneville and The Dalles pools - No report on angling success. Re-opened for sturgeon retention effective Jan. 1. John Day Pool - No reported in-sample catch of legal sized sturgeon last week. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - No reported in-sample catch of either specie last week. Trout Klineline Pond near Hazel Dell - Just after Christmas, the 36 bank anglers sampled had kept 4 rainbows. Trout releases in mid-December: Klineline Pond - 3,000 rainbows averaging ½ pound each Lacamas Lake near Camas - 6,000 rainbows averaging ½ pound each Ice House Lake near Bridge of the Gods - 2,800 rainbows averaging ½ pound each Little Ash Lake near Stevenosn - 2,800 rainbows averaging ½ pound each Spearfish Lake near Dallesport - - 131 rainbows between 7 and 10 pounds each. Smelt Lower Columbia - Six more pounds of smelt were caught by a commercial fisherman in the Skamokawa area during mid-December. The Cowlitz River and other Washington Columbia River tributaries are open to fishing for smelt Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 6 AM through 10 PM through March 31. The mainstem Columbia is open 7 days week, 24 hours/day through March 31. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for December 10-16, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Grays River - No report on angling success. Through December 12, a total of 332 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the hatchery. Elochoman River - No report on angling success. Through December 12, a total of 90 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the hatchery. Cowlitz River - Bank anglers near the barrier dam are still catching some hatchery coho although most fish are being released. Steelhead catches continue to increase. Flows below Mayfield Dam were 13,700 cfs this morning. Through December 12, a total of 134 and 487 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the salmon and trout hatcheries, respectively. Kalama River - Anglers were catching some hatchery coho and steelhead before the high and turbid water last week. Through December 12, a total of 248 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. Hatchery fish are being recycled downstream. Lewis River - Good catches of hatchery winter steelhead near the salmon hatchery. Counting some fish released, anglers averaged ½ steelhead per rod last week. Some hatchery coho are still being caught although most are being released. Bank angling effort was high near the hatchery last weekend. Through December 13, over 1,200 hatchery winter steelhead returned to the facilities. Almost all steelhead have been recycled downstream. Flows below Merwin Dam were 14,640 cfs this morning. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through December 12, a total of 228 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. John Day Pool - Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged ½ summer steelhead per rod while boaters averaged 3/4 fish per rod last week. Ringold - Bad weather kept angling effort to a minimum last week but the boat anglers that did venture out caught nearly a hatchery summer steelhead per rod. The average was 3 pole/hours per fish. Through December 16, an estimated 813 steelhead had been taken. Adult Spring Chinook Forecasts and Actual Returns in 2001 and Forecasts for 2002: Area 2001 Forecast 2001 Return 2002 Forecast Upper Columbia 364,600 416,500 333,700 Cowlitz River 1,000 1,700 3,100 Kalama River 1,000 1,700 1,600 Lewis River 2,800 2,200 2,000 Wind River 42,600 25,600 40,400 Drano Lake 11,100 14,300 18,500 Klickitat River 1,900 1,100 1,600 Yakima River 26,100 21,500 21,800 Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - The 7 bank anglers sampled near Longview had released 6 sublegals last weekend. Bonneville and The Dalles pools - Sturgeon are allowed to be retained beginning Jan. 1, 2002. John Day Pool - Anglers are catching some legals. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - No in-sample effort for either species was found there last week. Trout No releases reported for last week. Smelt Based on the poor parent returns observed in 1997-1999, the outlook for the 2002 smelt run would be well below average again. However, it is important to note that ocean conditions off the Washington and Oregon coasts have improved significantly in the last three years and the 2001 run, which was significantly stronger than recent years returns, was the largest since 1993. The strong return in 2001 would suggest that smelt have recovered and would predict a large return in 2002. Level 2 fisheries were adopted at the recent Compact Hearing for the 2002 season. Level 2 fisheries are described in the Smelt Management Plan as "when fishery data indicates a promising abundance in the spawning return and productivity indices are favorable, yet it is still uncertain whether the run is moderate or strong, then fishing time would be increased to collect additional data concerning relative eulachon abundance". The productivity indices are favorable when considering the 2001 returns of smelt and salmonids and the indicators of good salmonid returns again in 2002. All Washington Columbia River tributaries will be open to fishing for smelt only on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 6 AM to 10 PM from January 2, 2002 through March 31, 2002. In addition, the mainstem Columbia will be open to fishing for smelt 7 days/week, 24 hours/day from January 1, 2002 through March 31, 2002. The daily limit will be 10 pounds per person. No license is required. If smelt abundance indicates a move to the more liberal Level 3, the number of open days or an increase in the daily limit could be considered for the Washington tributary sport fisheries. Last Wednesday (December 12), a gillnetter near Clatskanie reportedly caught 30 pounds of smelt. For the latest smelt information, anglers are encouraged to call the WDFW Region 5 office hotline message at (360) 696-6211 and press * 1 Other Items This will likely be the last report for 2001. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! WDFW Sport Sampling Results for December 3-9, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Grays River - No report on angling success. The mainstem Grays from the Highway 4 Bridge upstream to the South Fork and the West Fork Grays from the mouth upstream to the hatchery intake footbridge (except for closed waters near the hatchery) will open to fishing for hatchery steelhead beginning this Saturday (Dec. 15). Through Dec. 5, a total of 111 hatchery winter steelhead had returned to the hatchery. Cowlitz River - Counting fish released, bank anglers near the barrier dam averaged about a coho per rod last week. Increasing numbers of steelhead were also appearing in the catch. Through Dec. 5, almost 42,000 coho had returned to the salmon hatchery. In addition, 340 winter steelhead had returned to the trout hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 9,670 cfs today. Kalama River - Producing a mixture of hatchery coho and hatchery steelhead. Through December 5, a total of 59 hatchery and 21 wild winter steelhead had been counted at Kalama Falls Hatchery. Lewis River - Also producing a mixture of hatchery coho and hatchery steelhead. The North Fork Lewis from Colvin Creek (just upstream from the salmon hatchery) upstream to the overhead power lines below Merwin Dam opens to fishing for hatchery steelhead beginning this Sunday (December 16). Salmon angling in this section of river remains closed until January 1. Slightly over 50,000 late stock coho have returned to the facilities on the North Fork Lewis. Through Dec. 5, a total of 668 hatchery winter steelhead had also returned to the facilities, nearly the same total for all of last year. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some fall chinook and summer-run steelhead. Ringold - Steelhead fishing was fair last week with bank anglers averaged 18 pole/hours per fish and boat anglers averaged 12 pole/hours per fish. Overall, not a lot of effort. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers just downstream from the dam continue to catch some legals. John Day Pool - No in-sample catch was observed there last week. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - No effort observed for either species last week. Trout Carlisle Lake (near Onalaska) - 56 rainbows weighing 7 to 10 pounds were released here last week. Rowland Lake (near Lyle) - 211 rainbows weighing 7 to 10 pounds were released here last week. Other Items 2002-2003 Fishing/Hunting licenses are now available at any licensed dealer, including the WDFW Regional Office in Vancouver. They would make a great Christmas present! 2001 Preliminary returns and outlook for 2002 for Columbia River fall chinook and coho runs: In general, fall chinook returns look good for 2002 while coho returns are expected to be down from 2001. Click here for more information. This week's razor clam digging schedule, along with afternoon or evening low tides, is as follows: • December 13 (5:27 p.m. -0.6) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks • December 14 (6:13 p.m. -0.7) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks • December 15 (6:56 p.m. -0.7) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks, Kalaloch WDFW Sport Sampling Results for Novebmer 26-December 2, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Lower Columbia tributaries - Pretty good early showing of hatchery winter steelhead. However, more fish than usual may be returning to the hatcheries because the rivers have been high and out of shape quite a bit of the time. Hatchery winter steelhead returns to SW Washington facilities through Nov. 28: Grays River - 23 Kalama River - 19 Cowlitz River - 86 North Fork Lewis River - 217 Washougal River - 69 Cowlitz River flow below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 12,900 cfs and on the North Fork Lewis below Merwin Dam 11,300 cfs today. Good web sites for SW Washington stream flow conditions are wa.water.usgs.gov/realtime/rt_latest_map.html or www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/index.shtml. John Day Pool - Anglers are catching some summer-run steelhead. Ringold - Bad weather kept many anglers at home last week but those who ventured out did well for hatchery summer-run steelhead. Bank and boat anglers averaged 10 pole/hours per fish. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Some legals are being caught off the bank just below Bonneville Dam. John Day Pool - Anglers are catching some legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - No in-sample effort for either species last week. Trout No report. Other Items The WDFW Commission meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m., Friday (Dec. 7) at the Cascade Park Inn and Suites, 221 NE Chkalov Drive in Vancouver. The meeting is scheduled to re-convene in the same location at 9 a.m., Saturday (Dec. 8). In the Friday session the commission will vote on adoption of a proposed Columbia River spring chinook allocation policy, to provide guidance to WDFW in allocating harvest opportunity between commercial and recreational fishers for 2002 and 2003. The commission is scheduled to discuss and take public comment on a draft 2002-03 sportfishing rules package in its Saturday session. The final rules, which will take effect next May, are scheduled to be adopted by the commission in February. Proposed changes in the rules package include creation of several new underwater marine protected areas, a proposal to allow freshwater anglers to use two poles with purchase of a second freshwater fishing license, and revisions to wild steelhead release rule exceptions. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for Novebmer 19-25, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Heavy effort below the barrier dam last Saturday (Nov. 24) with nearly 200 bank anglers sampled. Including fish released (which was about ½ the catch), anglers averaged a coho per rod. Most of the fish released were dark or had been snagged. Some steelhead are also appearing in the catch. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 11,300 cfs today. The lower portions of Blue and Mill creeks, both Cowlitz River tributaries, open to fishing December 1. Blue Creek, from the mouth to the posted sign at the rearing pond outlet, will be open to fishing for hatchery sea-run cutthroat and hatchery steelhead. Only wheel chair bound anglers may fish from posted sign above rearing pond outlet to posted sign at fence about 40 feet downstream, including the rearing pond outlet. Mill Creek from the mouth to the hatchery road crossing culvert will be open to fishing for hatchery steelhead. In both streams, night closures and non-buoyant lure restrictions will be in effect through the season which runs through December. For information about Cowlitz hatchery returns and releases of adults and jacks into the lower and upper watersheds, please contact the Tacoma Power web site. The address is www.ci.tacoma.wa.us/tpunews/fishreport.htm. Kalama River - Still producing some hatchery coho although quite a few fish are being released. Lewis River - Bank anglers averaged a hatchery adult coho kept per every 3 rods while boat anglers averaged slightly better than ½ fish last week. Quite a few fish being released here too. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some steelhead and fall chinook. Ringold - Effort and catches were down a little last week. Bank and boat anglers averaged 21 and 17.4 pole/hours per hatchery steelhead, respectively. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers just below the dam were catching some legals last week. John Day Pool - No in-sample legal size fish were observed last week. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - Some bass still being caught by boat anglers. No in-sample catches of walleye were found there last week. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for Novebmer 12-18, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - Anglers did very well on hatchery coho last week. Bank anglers had good success in the canyon area. Lewis River - Still producing hatchery coho and a few winter steelhead are beginning to appear in the catch. An angler brought in a 24.34 pound bright hatchery coho caught on the North Fork Lewis late Saturday. The fish, caught by Jacob Blake of Woodland, was 36 inches long and had a girth of 20 3/4 inches. He weighed the fish today. John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching some hatchery steelhead. Ringold - Fishing for hatchery steelhead was good to excellent last week with boat anglers averaging a fish per every 10 pole hours and shore anglers one per every 12 hours. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Light sampling occurred last week. John Day Pool - Some legals are being caught. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - There was no in-sample effort for these species. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for Novebmer 5-11, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Through November 8, over 20,000 coho had returned to the salmon hatchery. Typically, about 50% of the run had returned by that date. Most of the excess fish are being put upstream. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 3,560 cfs today. Lewis River - Still producing some hatchery coho. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 5,000 cfs yesterday (Nov. 12). A few winter steelhead had been reported at facilities through November 8. Washougal River - Producing some hatchery coho. Beginning last Saturday (Nov. 10), up to 6 adult hatchery coho could be retained in the salmon daily limit. Klickitat River - Boat anglers are catching hatchery coho inside the lower river and at the mouth. Yakima River - Little effort and catch for salmon on the middle portion of the Yakima. Thursday (Nov. 15), is the last day to fish for salmon. Lower Columbia below Bonneville - No report last week. John Day Pool - Light effort and catches. Ringold - Fishing for hatchery steelhead was very good the first two days but slowed dramatically by the weekend. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville - Some legals are being caught off the bank just downstream from Bonneville Dam. John Day Pool - Effort and catches were light last week. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - Effort and catch for walleye were light last week. There was no in-sample effort for bass. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for October 29-Novebmer 4, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama, Lewis, Washougal, and Klickitat rivers - Anglers are still catching some hatchery coho. Fishing has slowed somewhat at the mouth of the Klickitat but boat anglers still averaged about a ½ fish per rod there last week. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some fall chinook. Yakima River - Fishing was good through the final day at Prosser. An estimated 1,000 adult chinook were caught from the lower Yakima. Mid-Yakima remains open to fishing for salmon but very little effort or catch was observed there last week. Hanford Reach - Not much effort the last few days of the season when adult chinook could be kept above the Vernita Bridge. An estimated 5,600 adult and 1,400 jack fall chinook were caught here this season. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam and boat anglers in the Camas/Washougal area are catching some legals. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some legals. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - There was no in-sample effort for walleye last week. However, boat anglers continue to catch some bass. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for October 22-28, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,580 cfs today. Green River - Bank anglers kept almost one coho per angler and released close to five coho per angler. Kalama River - Some hatchery coho are being caught with about half of them being released. Lewis River - Boat and bank anglers are catching some coho. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,700 cfs today. Wind River - No report on angling success. Closes to fishing for salmon November 1. Klickitat River - No report on angling success. Yakima River - Fishing remained good to excellent near Prosser Dam this week. The fish seemed to have moved upstream of Horn Rapids. For the mid-Yakima just a few anglers were encountered with no fish this week. The river from the Highway 240 Bridge at Richland to 400 feet below Prosser Dam is scheduled to close to fishing for salmon on November 1. The river from the Highway 223 Bridge at Granger to 3,500 feet below Roza Dam remains open to fishing for salmon through November 15. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers in the Camas/Washougal area are catching some hatchery coho. Boat anglers at the mouth of the Cowlitz are also catching some hatchery coho. John Day Pool - Bank and boat anglers continue to get some chinook and hatchery steelhead. Hanford Reach - Bank anglers landed some fall chinook and released some steelhead. Adult salmon may be retained from the Vernita Bridge upstream to Priest Rapids Dam through October 31. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers below Bonneville Dam did fairly well with about one legal kept for every five anglers. Boat anglers below also had some success in the Camas/Washougal area. John Day Pool - Some sub-legals and over-sized sturgeon were released. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - Effort and catches were low last week for both walleye and bass. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for October 15-21, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Boat anglers did well on adult and jack hatchery coho at the mouth last week. Catch and effort is declining at the mouth of the Toutle. Bank anglers below the barrier dam were catching good numbers of hatchery coho. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Green River - Bank anglers are catching good numbers of hatchery coho although most are dark fish that are being released. Kalama River - Producing some hatchery coho and steelhead. Lewis River - Anglers were catching some hatchery coho near the mouth and at the salmon hatchery. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,040 cfs today. Wind River - No report on angling success. Closes to fishing for salmon November 1. Klickitat River - Very good for boat anglers in the Columbia at the mouth of the Klickitat and just inside the Klickitat River itself. Bright hatchery coho into the high teens are being caught there. Yakima River - Salmon fishing was outstanding on the lower Yakima last week. There were reports of 2 fish per hour being caught below Horn Rapids and Prosser dams. Slow near Granger and Roza. The river from the Highway 240 Bridge at Richland to 400 feet below Prosser Dam is scheduled to close to fishing for salmon on November 1. The river from the Highway 223 Bridge at Granger to 3,500 feet below Roza Dam remains open to fishing for salmon through November 15. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers near Camas/Washougal/Troutdale are catching some hatchery coho. Boat anglers below Bonneville Dam are catching some chinook. However, the river from Beacon Rock upstream to Bonneville Dam closes to fishing for salmon November 1. John Day Pool - Producing some fall chinook and hatchery steelhead. Hanford Reach - Chinook fishing was very good last week with about 2 fish per boat average. Fish quality has gone down with many fish being released. The river from the Vernita Bridge downstream to the wooden powerlines at the old Hanford townsite closes to all fishing after today (October 22). Adult salmon may be retained from the Vernita Bridge upstream to Priest Rapids Dam through October 31. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Quite a few bank anglers and several legals caught just below Bonneville Dam over the past weekend. John Day Pool - Several legals caught by bank anglers last week. Through September 30, an estimated 209 of the 560 fish guideline had been taken. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - Effort and catches were low last week. There was no in-sample effort for bass. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for October 8-14, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Grays River from mouth to South Fork - Closed to all fishing effective today (October 15) to protect chum salmon. Fishing for hatchery steelhead re-opens Nov. 15 from the mouth to the Hwy. 4 Bridge and Dec. 15 from the Hwy. 4 Bridge to the South Fork. Cowlitz River - Still producing coho near the mouth of the Toutle. Quite a few fish being released. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Toutle River - Still some chinook and coho being caught in the North Fork and Green River. Most fish are being released. All chinook must be released in the Green River. Kalama River - Producing some hatchery coho but a lot of fish are being released. Lewis River - Producing some hatchery coho but quite a few fish are being released here too. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,040 cfs today. Washougal River - Not a lot of effort on the river except for a fair number of boats in Camas Slough. Drano Lake - Some jacks are being caught by bank anglers. Klickitat River - Boat anglers are having some success for hatchery coho. Best fishing is where the Klickitat empties into the Columbia. Boat anglers there averaged a fish per rod last week. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Limited sampling conducted here last week. John Day Pool - Some chinook are being caught here. Yakima River - Fishing was fair to good at Prosser but slow elsewhere. Hanford Reach - Fishing remained good last week with about a fish per boat despite some very windy weather. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Limited sampling conducted here last week. John Day Pool - Effort was light last week. No legals were found in the sample. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - Not a lot of effort or catch last week. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for October 1-7, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Elochoman River - No report on angling success. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from the Foster-Risk Road Bridge upstream October 1 - December 31. Cowlitz River - Bank anglers near the mouth of the Toutle River averaged a coho for every two anglers, including fish released. Flows at Mayfield Dam are 2,580 cfs. North Fork Toutle River - As of Sept 26th chinook can be retained. Daily limit is six fish of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Under permanent regulations all chinook must be released from the Hwy. 504 bridge near Kidd Valley upstream October 1 - November 30. Bank anglers averaged over a chinook released per anlger. Several coho were also released. Green River remains closed to chinook retention. Kalama River - Bank anglers averaged an adult hatchery coho kept for every three anglers, and over one adult coho released for every angler. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released upstream from the natural gas pipeline October 1 - December 31. Lewis River - Bank anglers averaged an adult hatchery coho kept for every 7.5 anglers. Boat anglers averaged an adult hatchery coho kept for every 2.7 anglers. Several chinook were also kept. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,040 cfs today. Washougal River - Bank anglers had one chinook kept for twelve anglers checked. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from the Little Washougal River upstream beginning October 1. Wind River - No report on angling success. Drano Lake - Boat anglers averaged a fish kept for every three anglers with the catch composed of chinook jacks, coho, and steelhead. White Salmon River - A few bank anglers were checked with no catch. Boat anglers averaged almost two hatchery coho per angler. Klickitat River - Bank anglers had close to a chinook kept for every two anglers. Boat anglers had no catch to report. Yakima River - Bank anglers on the upper section averaged a chinook kept for every six anglers. The one boat angler checked had retained two adult chinook. Hanford Reach - Bank anglers averaged a chinook kept for every four anglers. Boat angling effort was very high with a chinook kept for every 2.4 anglers. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort is dropping as the returning salmon move into the tributaries. Bank anglers averaged a chinook or a hatchery steelhead kept for every five anglers. Boat anglers were a little more successful with a chinook or hatchery coho kept for every 2.4 anglers. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Sturgeon bank anglers averaged a legal kept for every 4.3 anglers. Boat anglers averaged a legal kept for every 7 anglers. Sturgeon retention was allowed beginning October 1st. Bonneville Pool - No report on angling success. John Day Pool - Bank anglers had a fish for every 1.5 anglers, with the catch consisting of chinook, coho, and steelhead. Boat anglers averaged a fish for every 7.8 anglers. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged about a fish per angler, including fish released. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for September 24-30, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Elochoman River - No report on angling success. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from the Foster-Risk Road Bridge upstream October 1 - December 31. Cowlitz River - Bank anglers near the mouth of the Toutle River averaged an adult hatchery coho kept per about every 1.5 rods last week. Starting Wednesday, Sept. 26 chinook could be retained on the Cowlitz from the mouth upstream to the barrier dam. A few chinook caught below the barrier dam, a chinook kept for every 3 rods. N. Toutle River - Beginning Wed. Sept. 26 chinook can be retained. Daily limit is 6 fish of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Under permanent regulations all chinook must be released from the Hwy. 504 bridge near Kidd Valley upstream October 1 - November 30. Bank anglers near the mouth of the Green River averaged an adult chinook kept per about 5 rods. Coho fishing still remains slow. Green River remains closed for chinook retention. Kalama River - Bank anglers averaged an adult hatchery coho per every 5 rods last week. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released upstream from the natural gas line pipeline October 1 - December 31. Lewis River - Boat and bank anglers averaged about an adult hatchery coho per every 3 rods. Under permanent regulations, the North Fork Lewis from Colvin Creek upstream to Merwin Dam closes to all angling beginning October 1. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,150 cfs today. Washougal River - Bank anglers are catching a few chinook. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from the Little Washougal River upstream beginning October 1. Wind River - Boat anglers are catching some hatchery coho. Drano Lake - No report. White Salmon River - No report. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from posted markers ½ mile upstream of the Highway 14 bridge upstream beginning October 1. Klickitat River - Bank anglers have caught a few chinook and hatchery coho. Yakima River - Fishing was slow on the Yakima, a few chinook and coho were caught. Hanford Reach - Fishing was good this week, averaging a fish per boat. Over the weekend over a 100 boat trailers were counted each day at the Vernita Bridge area. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers averaged an adult chinook per every 16 rods last week. Best catches of chinook and coho were at the mouth of the Cowlitz and Lewis Rivers. Bonneville Pool - Some fall chinook being caught at the mouths of the White Salmon and Drano Lake. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Not much effort last week. Sturgeon retention is scheduled to re-open October 1. John Day Pool - No report. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish No report. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for September 17-23, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Elochoman River - No report on angling success. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from the Foster-Risk Road Bridge upstream October 1-December 31. Cowlitz River - Bank anglers near the mouth of Toutle River averaged an adult hatchery coho kept per about every 3 rods last week. Beginning Wed. Sept. 26, chinook may be retained on the Cowlitz from the mouth upstream to the barrier dam. The salmon daily limit is 6 fish of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Under permanent regulations all chinook must be released from Blue Creek upstream to Mill Creek October 1-December 31. On the upper Cowlitz, Tilton, Cispus rivers and Lake Scanewa (Cowlitz Falls Reservoir), the salmon daily limit increases to 6 fish, no more than 4 adults beginning October 1. Fish releases into the upper Cowlitz basin depends on returns to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Toutle River including North Fork and Green rivers - Quite a few chinook being released but coho fishing remains slow. Beginning Wed. Sept. 26, chinook may be retained on the Toutle River including the North Fork. The salmon daily limit is 6 fish of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Under permanent regulations all chinook must be released from the Hwy. 504 Bridge near Kidd Valley upstream October 1-November 30. The Green River remains closed to chinook retention. Kalama River - Bank anglers averaged an adult hatchery coho per about every 5 rods last week. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released upstream from the natural gasline pipeline October 1-December 31. Lewis River - Boat and bank anglers averaged about an adult hatchery coho per every 4 rods last week. Under permanent regulations, the North Fork Lewis from Colvin Creek (located upstream from the salmon hatchery) upstream to Merwin Dam closes to all angling beginning October 1. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,275 cfs today. Washougal River - Bank anglers are catching some fall chinook although most are being released. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from the Little Washougal River upstream beginning October 1. Wind River - Boat anglers are catching some adult hatchery coho. Drano Lake - Last week, boat anglers averaged an adult hatchery coho per rod. Some hatchery steelhead and a few fall chinook are also appearing in the catch. White Salmon River - Anglers are catching some adult hatchery coho. Under permanent regulations, all chinook must be released from posted markers ½ mile upstream of the Highway 14 Bridge upstream beginning October 1. Klickitat River - Bank anglers averaged ½ adult hatchery coho per rod last week. Some adult fall chinook are also being taken. Yakima River - Fishing was slow on the lower Yakima with a few fish taken at Chandler and Prosser. Hanford Reach - Fishing was good last week with some days being excellent. The overall average was over ½ fish per boat but some days at Vernita the average was a fish per boat. Nearly one hundred boat trailers were counted each day at the Vernita Bridge area last weekend. Buoy 10 - Good weather but not many fishers or catch last Saturday, at least at the Knappton and Deep River ramps. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers averaged an adult chinook per every 7.4 rods last week. Best catches of chinook and hatchery coho were near the mouths of the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers. Bonneville Pool - Some fall chinook are being taken at the mouths of Drano Lake and the White Salmon River. John Day Pool - No report. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Not much effort last week. Sturgeon retention is scheduled to re-open October 1. John Day Pool - No report. Walleye and Bass and other warm water fish Mayfield Lake - A possible new state record tiger musky was caught there Saturday. Fish was 51" and weighed 31.25 lbs, beating the old record by 3 lbs. Anglers name was John Bays of Chehalis. Amazingly, his friend, Britt Lawrence of Onalaska caught a 30.0 lb fish the same day, also larger than the current state record (See photo by Jack Tipping - larger fish is on the right). John Day Pool - No report. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for September 10-16, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Anglers are catching hatchery coho around the mouth of the Toutle. Bank anglers averaged ½ fish per rod last week. Toutle River - Quite a few chinook being caught (which have to be released) in the North Fork Toutle and Green rivers but few hatchery coho were being taken last weekend. Kalama River - Bank anglers averaged one hatchery coho per every 3 rods last week. Some fall chinook and hatchery summer run steelhead are also being caught. Lewis River - Anglers averaged about ½ hatchery coho per rod last week. Some chinook and hatchery summer run steelhead are also being caught. Bank angling effort has been heavy around the salmon hatchery. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 3,000 cfs today. Washougal River - Bank anglers are catching some fall chinook. Quite a few fish are being foul-hooked and being released. Wind River - Lots of coho are present but catches have been light. Drano Lake - Boat anglers are catching some hatchery coho. Steelhead catches continue to slow. White Salmon River - A mixture of fall chinook, hatchery coho, and hatchery steelhead are appearing in the catch. Klickitat River - Bank anglers are catching mainly hatchery coho and fall chinook. Buoy 10 - At the Knappton and Deep River ramps, boat anglers averaged about a coho per rod last week. Catches were good at the beginning of the week but continued to slow through the weekend. No report from Chinook/Ilwaco is currently available. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers from Bonneville to Cathlamet averaged a adult chinook per every 8 rods last week. Bank anglers are catching a few fall chinook and hatchery steelhead. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers are catching fall chinook at the mouth of the tributaries. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some hatchery steelhead. Yakima River - Off to a slow start with a few fish taken near Prosser. Hanford Reach - Fishing picked up last week, averaging about ½ adult chinook per boat. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Not much effort although the few boat anglers sampled had released some legals. Sturgeon retention is scheduled to be allowed again beginning Oct. 1. John Day Pool - Low effort and catches last week. Walleye and Bass John Day Pool - Low effort and catches last week. Trout No report. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for September 3-9, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - Anglers are catching fall chinook, coho, and steelhead. Quite a few coho and steelhead are present throughout the lower river. Lewis River - At the mouth, boat anglers are catching fall chinook, coho, and steelhead. Quite a few coho and steelhead are present in the North Fork Lewis. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 3,500 cfs today. Washougal River - Quite a few fall chinook spread throughout the river but effort is low. Drano Lake - Steelhead angling may be slowing but numbers of fall chinook and coho should be increasing. White Salmon River - Boat anglers averaged nearly a hatchery steelhead per rod last week. Increasing numbers of coho are appearing in the bank anglers catch. Klickitat River - Bank anglers averaged better than ½ hatchery coho per rod last week. Fall chinook and a few steelhead are also appearing in the catch. Marine Area 1 - No report is currently available. Buoy 10 - At the Knappton and Deep River ramps, boat anglers averaged 2 hatchery coho per rod last week. No report was available for Chinook or Ilwaco. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers averaged an adult chinook kept per every 4.6 rods last week. Best catches were earlier in the week. Increasing numbers of hatchery coho are appearing in the catch, primarily around the mouth of the Cowlitz. Based on the Saturday Sept. 8 flight count, a total of 737 salmonid boats were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line. At the mouth of the Cowlitz and in the Camas/Washougal area, 231 and 224 boats were counted, respectively. In addition, nearly 100 boats were counted near the mouth of the Lewis. Yesterday (Saturday September 10), a total of 26,376 adult fall chinook were counted at Bonneville Dam. It appears to be the third highest daily count on record. The record was 39,376 fish set on September 12, 1987. TAC updated river mouth run sizes to 234,400 brights and 109,000 tules. The preseason forecast was 178,000 brights and 61,900 tules. Returns of jack fall chinook have been strong to date with 26,400 brights and 19,400 (including adult-size jacks) counted at Bonneville Dam through September 9. In addition, the 2001 coho return above Bonneville Dam appears to be at record levels. Yesterday, over 19,000 coho were counted at Bonneville Dam. To date, over 106,000 coho had been counted. The season total record is 108,649 coho in 1986. Also, steelhead appear to be moving out of Bonneville Pool in mass numbers. Yesterday, 15,571 fish were counted at The Dalles Dam. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers are catching some fall chinook at the mouth of the tributaries. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some steelhead. Hanford Reach - Effort and catch for fall chinook is increasing. However, more steelhead were caught than fall chinook again last week. Nearly 50 boat trailers were observed near the Vernita Bridge each day last weekend. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Little effort last week. John Day Pool - Light effort and catches last week. Walleye and Bass John Day Pool - Slow for walleye. No in-sample effort was observed for bass last week. Trout Mayfield and Riffe reservoirs - The creel census sampling has been completed for the year. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for August 27-September 3, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Some coho are appearing in the lower river. Kalama River - Producing some fall chinook, hatchery coho and hatchery steelhead. Lewis River - Producing hatchery coho and hatchery steelhead. Wind River - Generally light effort and catches. Drano Lake - Producing mainly hatchery steelhead and a few fall chinook and hatchery coho. White Salmon River - Producing hatchery steelhead. Klickitat River - Based on tribal catches, lots of fall chinook and coho are present in the lower river. However, the river has been turbid at times. Lower Columbia from Bonneville Dam downstream to Cathlamet - Relatively slow considering all the fish going by. Boat anglers averaged an adult chinook per every 8.2 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 25.6 rods last week. Some hatchery coho and steelhead are also appearing in the catch. Adult fall chinook counts at Bonneville Dam reached 14,326 fish yesterday. Lots of salmonid effort was observed during the Saturday Sept. 1 flight. A total of 1,167 boats were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream to Cathlamet. The heaviest effort was found near the mouth of the Lewis and Camas/Washougal areas were 274 and 265 boats were counted, respectively. In addition, there were 192 boats near the mouth of the Cowlitz and 143 boats near Vancouver. Also, 204 bank anglers were counted along the Washington shore from Bonneville Dam downstream to Cathlamet. Bonneville Pool - Slow for fall chinook last week. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some steelhead. Hanford Reach - The first fall fish of the season was sampled last weekend. Still lots of steelhead being caught and released. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville - Not much effort was observed last week. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass John Day Pool - Very good for bass but has slowed for walleye. Including fish released, boat anglers averaged almost 10 bass and one walleye per every 4.4 rods last week. Trout Mayfield Reservoir - Boat anglers averaged nearly 2 rainbows per rod last week. Riffe Reservoir - Early last week, the effort on the entire lake was way down. Recent releases of 1/2 pound rainbows: Skate Creek - 1,200 fish Tilton River - 2,000 fish. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for August 20-26, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Grays River - Opens to fishing for hatchery coho and hatchery steelhead beginning September 1. The salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which all may be adult hatchery coho. All chinook and chum must be released. Deep River - Effective Sept. 1, the salmon daily limit is 6 fish, no more than 2 adult chinook. Elochoman River - Opens to fishing for chinook and hatchery coho effective Sept. 1. The salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Abernathy, Germany, and Coal creeks near Longview - Are closed to all fishing in September and October to protect naturally spawning fall chinook. Cowlitz River - Fishing on the lower river is slow. The river is turbid below the mouth of the Toutle. Effective September 1, all chinook must be released on the entire river. From the barrier dam downstream, the salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which all may be adult hatchery coho effective Sept. 1. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,650 cfs today. Toutle River (including the North Fork and Green rivers) - Effective Sept. 1, the salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which all may be adult hatchery coho. All chinook must be released. Kalama River - Producing some hatchery summer-run steelhead. Some fall chinook have appeared at the traps but fishing has been slow for salmon. Effective Sept. 1, the salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Lewis River - Producing some hatchery summer-run steelhead and some coho are beginning to appear in the catch. Effective Sept. 1, the salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,500 cfs today. Washougal River - There is a mistake in the regulation pamphlet. The salmon daily limit remains 6 fish, no more than 2 adults. Drano Lake - Boat and bank anglers averaged about ½ hatchery steelhead per rod last week. Some fall chinook and coho are beginning to appear in the catch. Effective Sept. 1, the salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. White Salmon River - Including fish released, bank anglers averaged about 3/4 steelhead per rod last week. Some fall chinook are also appearing in the catch. Klickitat River - Effective Sept. 1, the salmon daily limit is 6 fish, of which no more than 2 may be adult chinook. Marine Area 1 - Last week, Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) anglers averaged 1.7 salmon per rod. About 5% of the catch were chinook. Through August 26, an estimated 6,379 (82.3%) of the chinook guideline and 92,242 (90.0%) of the coho quota had been taken. Buoy 10 - The best fishing last week was on Friday when anglers averaged 1/3 chinook and 1.4 coho per rod. Through August 26, an estimated 67,900 angler trips has produced 9,445 chinook and 57,600 coho. Effective Thursday August 30, all chinook must be released. However, up to 4 hatchery coho may be retained. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers averaged a hatchery steelhead kept per every 15 rods based on mostly incomplete trips last week. Boat anglers averaged a chinook and hatchery steelhead kept per every 17 and 21 rods, respectively, last week. Yesterday, 12,185 adult fall chinook, 6,594 steelhead, and 5,518 adult coho were counted at Bonneville Dam. Bonneville Pool - The mouths of the Washington tributaries are producing some fall chinook and steelhead. Effective September 1 through October 15, non-buoyant lure restrictions and night closures will be in effect on the Washington side of the river. John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some summer-run steelhead. Hanford Reach - Slow for salmon although lots of steelhead are being released at Ringold. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville - Sturgeon effort remains low. John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching a few legal sized fish. Sturgeon retention has been extended until further notice in John Day Pool. Less than 40 percent of the 560-fish harvest guideline is expected to be harvested by September 1 when the retention period was scheduled to end. Walleye and Bass Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers were catching some walleye near Camas/Washougal. John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged 2/3 walleye and over 13.5 bass per rod last week. Trout Mayfield Reservoir - Boat anglers averaged nearly 2 rainbows each. Not many anglers out due to poor weather conditions. Riffe Reservoir - Not many anglers out due to poor weather conditions. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for August 13-19, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - Effort was light on the Kalama River and no catch was checked. Lewis River - Bank anglers averaged a steelhead for every 7 - 8 anglers, including steelhead released. Chinook are starting to show up in the catch for both bank and boat anglers. Boat anglers did very well this week with a fish for every 2 - 3 anglers, including fish released. The catch consisted mostly of steelhead with some chinook, adults and jacks mixed in. Wind River - Effort was very light last week with 5 bank anglers checked with no catch. Drano Lake - Bank and boat anglers continue to do well catching steelhead. Bank anglers averaged close to a steelhead per person, including fish released. Boat anglers averaged about a fish for every 4 anglers, including fish released. A chinook showed up in the catch this week. White Salmon River - Fishing was great at the White Salmon this week. Bank anglers averaged a steelhead for every 2 - 3 anglers, including fish released, and the boat anglers had about 1.5 fish for every angler, including steelhead released. Klickitat River - Effort was very low and no catch was seen. Hanford Reach - Effort was high for the opening week. The catch consisted almost entirely of released steelhead. One chinook was caught by the bank anglers. Lower Columbia River below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers continued to catch some steelhead this week with the best catch showing up in the Longview to County Line area, averaging a steelhead for every 7 - 8 anglers including fish released. Boat anglers did well in the Longview area averaging a fish for every 2 - 3 anglers, including fish released. Chinook are starting to make up a larger portion of the catch. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Closed to retention of sturgeon. Bonneville Pool - No anglers were checked in Bonneville Pool. John Day Pool - Bank anglers had a little activity catching sub-legals, but no legals were caught. Boat anglers caught and released some sub-legals and a couple of over-sized sturgeon. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - No anglers were checked in Bonneville Pool. John Day Pool - Bank anglers released a couple of bass. Boat anglers saw a lot of activity with one walleye kept for every two anglers and about 5 bass released per angler. Trout No sampling was reported for Lakes. Recent releases of catchable size trout: Skate Creek - 1,932 rainbows Tilton River - 1,764 WDFW Sport Sampling Results for August 6-12, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Buoy 10 -Through August 5, an estimated 4,816 anglers at Ilwaco and Chinook caught 134 chinook and 3,444 coho. At the Deep River and Knappton ramps last week, we sampled 19 boat anglers with 1 hatchery coho kept. During the Saturday August 11 flight, 663 private and 23 charter boats were counted at Buoy 10. Marine Area 1 - Last week, anglers averaged slightly better than 1.6 fish per rod. 93% of the catch were coho. Through August 12, an estimated 4,480 (57.8%) of the chinook guideline and 62,515 (61.0%) of the coho quota had been taken. Effective Aug. 16, the salmon daily limit at Buoy 10 increases to 3 fish, no more than 1 chinook. Wild coho have to be released. Kalama River - Producing some hatchery summer-run steelhead. Through Aug. 8, a total of 31 adult fall chinook had been trapped at the Modrow rack. Lewis River - Producing some hatchery summer-run steelhead. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,500 cfs today. Wind River - Low effort but some hatchery summer-run steelhead are being caught. Drano Lake - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged 1.3 steelhead per rod last week. White Salmon River - Counting fish released, bank and boat anglers averaged about a steelhead per rod last week. A few fall chinook are also being taken. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Slower for hatchery steelhead last week. Including fish released, bank anglers on the Washington sand bars averaged a steelhead kept per every 9.9 rods while boat anglers averaged one per every 6.8 rods last week. A few fall chinook and coho are appearing in the catch. Fishing for sea-run cutthroats below Longview is good for the few anglers actually targeting them. Still pretty heavy effort at the mouth of the Cowlitz. On the Saturday August 11 flight, 115 boats were counted there. Nearly 100 boats were counted int the Camas/Washougal area. Effort on the Washington shore was heaviest near Longview where 117 rods were counted. Water temperature measured yesterday at Bonneville Dam was a warm 70 degrees. Bonneville and John Day pools - Producing some hatchery summer-run steelhead for bank anglers. The mainstem Columbia from the Hwy. 395 Bridge at Pasco upstream to Priest Rapids Dam opens to fishing for salmon Aug. 16. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville - Not much effort with the river being closed to sturgeon retention. Bonneville Pool - Today is the last day to keep sturgeon in Bonneville Pool. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Remains open for sturgeon retention. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged 11 bass per rod last week. There was no in-sample effort for bass. John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged ½ walleye and over 10 bass per rod last week. Trout Mayfield Reservoir - Boat anglers averaged 2 rainbows per rod last week. Riffe Reservoir - Boat anglers averaged 4 fish per rod last week, primarily landlocked coho. The lake was reported 41 feet below full pool today. The boat ramps at Mossyrock Park are reported to be useable. The Taidnapum ramp was reported not useable.   WDFW Sport Sampling Results for July 30-August 5, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - Some steelhead were caught by both bank and boat anglers, averaging about a steelhead for every 8 - 10 anglers, including fish released. Lewis River - Boat anglers did very well averaging almost one steelhead for every angler, including fish released. Flows for Lewis River are 1500 cfs. Drano Lake - Boat anglers did very well last week averaging a steelhead for about every two anglers, including fish released. Bank anglers were also catching some hatchery steelhead, averaging about one fish for every six anglers. White Salmon River - Bank anglers averaged a steelhead for every 1.3 anglers, including fish released. Boat anglers averaged more than one steelhead per angler, including fish released. Klickitat - Effort was very low, although there was still some catch of hatchery steelhead. Buoy 10 - Boat anglers did very well catching more than one hatchery coho for every angler, not including released coho. Effort was very low for bank fishing. Effort for salmonids at Buoy 10 and the lower Columbia has been high. On the Saturday August 4 flight, an estimated 1,100 boats were at Buoy 10. In addition, there were 600 boats from Bonneville Dam downstream to the estuary (not including Buoy 10). Heaviest effort was at the mouth of the Cowlitz where 114 boats were counted. Also, there were 600 bank anglers on the Washington shore from Bonneville to Cathlamet. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort for steelhead was high and catch was very good. Catches for bank and boat effort averaged a fish for every 3 - 8 anglers, including fish released. Catch was the best this week for boat anglers in the Woodland and Ridgefield areas, averaging a steelhead for every 3 anglers including fish released. The Columbia River below Bonneville Dam opened August 1 for retention of salmon. Some chinook showed up in the catch, particularly in the boat catch upstream of the mouth of the Cowlitz River. A new record single daily count of steelhead at Bonneville Dam occurred August 3 when 14,432 fish were counted. To date, 300,000 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam. This is a new record for A-run type steelhead. Bonneville Pool - Bank anglers caught about a steelhead for every 6 anglers, including fish released, while boat anglers did even better with almost a fish for every angler, including released fish. Marine Area 1 anglers averaged 1.7 salmon per rod. 93% of the catch was coho. Through August 5, an estimated 3,612 (46.6%) of the chinook guideline and 50,309 (49.1%) of the coho quota had been taken. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Sturgeon effort dropped way off this week. The end of July produced some kept sturgeon in Section 1, the area just below Bonneville Dam. Since August 1, however, there has been minimal catch and release effort for sturgeon. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers had one legal kept for 11 anglers checked. Bank anglers had no kept sturgeon for this past week. John Day Pool - Boat anglers had a legal kept for every 23 anglers, while bank anglers had only one legal kept for the 118 anglers checked. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Effort was very low, however, the few people checked averaged three bass for every bank angler and 6 bass for every boat angler, including fish released. John Day Pool - Effort was very low, but catch was good. Boat anglers averaged 12 bass for every angler, including fish released. Trout No sampling information was available for last week. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for July 23-29, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Through July 25, nearly 800 adult and 160 jack steelhead had returned to the Cowlitz hatcheries. Kalama River - Producing some hatchery summer-run steelhead. Through July 25, a total of 438 adult and 39 jack hatchery summer-run steelhead plus 201 adult and 4 jack wild steelhead had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. Lewis River - Producing hatchery summer-run steelhead, in the North Fork and at the mouth. Through July 25, nearly 4,000 hatchery summer run steelhead had returned to the facilities. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through July 25, nearly 2,000 steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. Drano Lake -Continues to improve for hatchery summer-run steelhead. Counting fish released, boat anglers averaged nearly a steelhead per rod last week. White Salmon River - Continues to improve for hatchery summer-run steelhead. Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged ½ steelhead per rod while boat anglers averaged a fish per rod last week. Klickitat River - Continues to produce hatchery summer-run steelhead. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged a steelhead per every 4.6 rods while boaters averaged one per every 2.7 rods last week. At Bonneville Dam, steelhead daily counts reached 13,579 fish on Saturday July 28. It was the largest single day count since at least 1984. Through July 29, the 200,000 A-run type steelhead counted to date nearly equals the pre-season run forecast. The record for A-run steelhead, those fish counted from April 1-August 25 and primarily headed to the upper Columbia, was 276,400 fish in 1986. Bonneville and John Day pools - Slow for hatchery steelhead. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - At Deep River and Knappton ramps, boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 3.6 rods last weekend. Twenty-three charters and 203 private boats were counted in the Estuary last Friday (July 27). Bank angling is slow. Reminder: The lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam closes to sturgeon retention from August 1-September 30. It remains open for catch-and-release fishing. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged 3/4 legal per rod last week. John Day pool - Lots of effort but light catches last week. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Light effort and catches. John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged nearly 20 bass per rod last week. Walleye fishing was slower last week. Trout Mayfield Lake - Still producing good catches of rainbows, primarily for boat anglers. Riffe Lake - Producing mainly landlocked steelhead and coho.   WDFW Sport Sampling Results for July 16-22, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Opens to fishing for hatchery coho effective August 1. All chinook must be released. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,650 cfs today. Kalama River - Including fish released, bank anglers averaged about a steelhead per every 3 rods last week. Lewis River - Anglers continue to catch hatchery steelhead in the North Fork and at the mouth of the river. Fall chinook will be allowed to be retained this year. In addition, boat anglers will be able to fish in the Cedar Creek hole this fall. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,500 cfs today. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Opens to fishing for salmon effective August 1. Bonneville Pool tributaries - Continues to improve for hatchery steelhead. Salmon angling re-opens at Drano Lake and the mouth of the Wind River plus adult salmon may be retained in the Klickitat River effective August 1. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Continues to improve for hatchery steelhead. Including fish released, bank anglers averaged a steelhead per every 3 rods last week. Adult chinook and hatchery coho may be retained effective August 1 from Buoy 10 upstream to the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco. At Bonneville Dam, daily steelhead counts reached 7,600 fish on Friday July 20. Through July 22, over 124,000 steelhead had been counted at Bonneville Dam. The recent ten-year average is slightly over 36,000 steelhead. Bonneville and John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching some steelhead. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers at the Deep River and Knappton ramps averaged a legal kept per every 3 rods last weekend. Note: Look for a Fishing Rule Change Notice this week about possible catch-and-release only sturgeon fishing on the lower Columbia below Bonneville in August and September. Bonneville Pool - The small numbers of boat anglers sampled last week averaged 2/3 legal per rod. Overall, effort was down last week. John Day Pool - Anglers are catching some legals. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Effort and catch for walleye and bass was low last week. John Day Pool - Counting fish released, boat anglers averaged ½ walleye per rod last week. There was no in-sample effort for bass last week. Trout Mayfield Lake - Boat anglers averaged 3 rainbows per rod last week. Riffe Lake - Bank anglers averaged a trout per rod last week. Catch was a mixture of landlocked steelhead and coho plus cutthroats. The lake was reported 38 feet below full pool today. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for July 9-15, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz Hatchery - No report on angling success. Through July 3, a total of 231 adult and 22 jack summer-run steelhead had returned to Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,630 cfs today. Kalama River - A total of 289 hatchery adult (plus 23 jacks) and 169 wild adult summer-run steelhead had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery through July 11. Lewis River - Producing hatchery summer-run steelhead and some spring chinook mini jacks. Through July 11, nearly 2,800 hatchery summer-run steelhead had returned to the facilities. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,650 cfs today. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through July 11, nearly 1,500 hatchery summer-run steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. Drano Lake - Beginning to produce hatchery summer-run steelhead for boat anglers. White Salmon River - Beginning to produce hatchery summer-run steelhead for bank and boat anglers. Klickitat River - Was pretty silty from snow melt last week. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged a summer-run steelhead per every 5 rods last week. Bonneville Dam daily counts of steelhead reached nearly 6,000 fish yesterday. The river was reported a low 75,900 cfs and water temperature was a fairly high 67 degrees. Bonneville Pool - Producing a few hatchery summer-run steelhead. John Day Pool - No in-sample effort for salmonids was observed here last week. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - At Knappton and Deep River ramps last weekend, boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 2.6 rods. Bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam were also catching some legals. Bank angling was slow in the estuary. Bonneville Pool - Effort and catches were down last week. Through June 30, an estimated 1,214 of the 1,520 guideline had been taken. John Day Pool - Producing some legals for boat anglers. Through June 30, an estimated 78 of the 560 fish guideline had been taken. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Light effort with no in-sample walleye or bass catch last week. John Day Pool - Counting fish released, boat anglers averaged nearly ½ walleye per rod last week. Effort for bass was very low. Trout Mayfield Lake - Producing good numbers of rainbows. The lake was planted with 69,300 rainbows in late June from the Friends of the Cowlitz net pens. Fish ranged up to ½ fish per pound. Riffe Lake - Continuing to produce a variety of trout for both bank and boat anglers. The lake was reported 39 feet below full pool today. The boat ramp at Mossyrock Park was reported to be useable; Taidnupum ramp was reported unuseable. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for July 2-8, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Lewis River - Anglers are catching some hatchery summer-run steelhead and chinook mini-jacks. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,650 cfs today. Bonneville Pool tributaries - Effort is generally low although some hatchery summer-run steelhead are being caught. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers averaged a hatchery steelhead per every 7 rods last week. A few chinook jacks are also appearing in the catch. Through July 8, a total of 53,300 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam. The recent ten-year average is 17,420 fish. Bonneville Pool - Some hatchery summer-run steelhead and a few chinook jacks are being caught by bank anglers. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort has been high. During the Sat. July 9 flight, a total of 560 bank anglers fishing for salmonids were found on the Washington shore from Vancouver downstream. In addition, nearly 200 salmonid boats were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers sampled at the Deep River and Knappton ramps averaged a legal kept per every 2.5 rods last week. A few legals were also being caught off the bank just downstream from Bonneville Dam and in the estuary. The mainstem Columbia from Beacon Rock upstream to the Hamilton Ramp/Robins Island line opens to fishing for sturgeon from boats effective next Monday (July 16). Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 4 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 9. John Day Pool - A few legals are being caught by boat anglers. Private boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 4 rods while charter boaters averaged better than 0.9 legal kept per rod. Some of the charter boats were in with limits by 9 a.m. last week. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort has been high. During the Sat. July 9 flight, over 500 of the 649 sturgeon boats were found in the estuary. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - A 35 ½ inch walleye was caught there last week. Boat anglers averaged 12 bass per rod. John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged ½ walleye and 9 bass per rod. Trout Mayfield Lake - Anglers are catching some rainbows here. Riffe Lake - Anglers are catching a variety of fish including landlocked steelhead, cutthroats, coho chinook, and brown trout. The lake was reported feet below 37 feet full pool today. The boat ramps at Mossyrock Park are reported to be useable; the boat ramp at Taidnapum Park is reported not useable. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for June 25-July 1, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - No sampling was done this week. Lewis River - No sampling was done this week. Through June 28th 1,176 adult spring chinook had returned to the facilities. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,800 cfs today. Drano Lake - Effort is low, no catch was reported. White Salmon River - Effort is low, no catch was reported. Klickitat River - Effort is low, some steelhead are being caught. Lower Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream - Sampling was light this last week due to other job duties. Above Longview Bridge bank fishing for steelhead was best in the Kalama area with an average of a fish for every 3.3 anglers, including released fish. Sample data for below Longview Bridge, including Deep River and Knappton, were not available. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Above Longview Bridge effort was light. A couple of legal sturgeon were landed. Effort was high at ports of Ilwaco and Chinook. Private boat anglers out of Ilwaco averaged a legal kept for every 6.4 anglers. Boat anglers out of Chinook did a little better with a legal kept for every 3.6 anglers. Charter boats averaged a legal kept for every 1.3 anglers. Sample data for Deep River and Knappton were not available. Bonneville Pool - Bank anglers averaged a legal kept for every 12 anglers. Boat angling effort was very low and no legal size catch was reported. John Day Pool - Bank effort was up and although no legals were kept some subs and over-sized fish were caught and released. Boat anglers had better succes with a few legals being caught as well as quite a few sub-legals and over-sized fish being caught and released. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Very little effort and no catch. John Day Pool - 44 boat anglers produced 6 walleye and 17 bass, including fish released. Trout Klineline Pond - Fair effort with a catch of a bass and a couple of bluegills. Riffe Reservoir - Bank anglers did very well averaging a steelhead and a coho for every 2.5 anglers. Boat angling effort was low, however, the catch was good with almost three fish per angler. Catch consisted of steelhead, cutthroat, and coho. The water level at Riffe was 739.9 feet with 778 feet being full pool. Mayfield Reservoir - Boat and bank anglers both had good success with almost two rainbow trout per angler. Recent released of catchable size trout: Lewis and Clark Park - 200 rainbows Skate Creek - 3,044 rainbows South Lewis County Park Pond - 800 rainbows Tilton River - 3,360 rainbows Shad Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Shad effort and catch has dropped off. Only a few shad were caught this last week. Shad counts at Bonneville Dam total 2,255,024 through July 1. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for June 18-24, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - Still producing hatchery summer-run steelhead and a few spring chinook. Through June 20, a total of 88 hatchery and 66 wild summer run steelhead had been counted at the Kalama Falls trap. Lewis River - Producing spring chinook (adults and mini jacks) and hatchery summer run steelhead. Through June 20, a total of 1,315 hatchery summer-run steelhead had been counted at the Merwin Dam trap. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,850 cfs today. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through June 20, a total of 615 hatchery summer run steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. Wind River - Still producing some spring chinook though effort and catch continues to dwindle. Nearly 12,000 spring chinook will have been caught by the time the season closes after Saturday June 30. The lower river from the mouth to 400 feet downstream of Shipherd Falls will remain open to fishing for hatchery steelhead. Salmon angling from the mouth to the railroad bridge will re-open August 1. The river upstream from Shipherd Falls will close to all fishing effective July 1. Drano Lake - Light effort and catches. The spring chinook fishery will be open through Saturday June 30. An estimated 3,400 spring chinook will have been caught by the time the season closes. The lake will remain open to fishing for hatchery steelhead. Salmon angling re-opens August 1. White Salmon River - Light effort and catches. Effective July 1, the daily limit is 2 hatchery steelhead plus 6 salmon, no more than 2 adults from the mouth upstream to the powerhouse. The section from the powerhouse upstream to Condit Dam closed to all fishing June 16. Klickitat River - A few spring chinook jacks are being caught from the upper river. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort and catches are increasing. During the Saturday June 23 flight, a total of 354 bank anglers on the Washington shore and 166 boats were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream. Heaviest bank effort was found just below Longview (155 rods) and near Kalama (74 rods). Overall, Washington bank anglers averaged a hatchery summer-run steelhead kept per every 7.4 rods last week with the best success from Kalama downstream. A few summer chinook jacks are also appearing in the catch. Through June 24, a total of 23,560steelhead had been counted at Bonneville Dam. The recent 10-year average is 9,265 fish. Bonneville and John Day pools - Some hatchery summer-run steelhead are being caught in Bonneville Pool. Effort is light in John Day Pool. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort and catches remain high. During the Saturday June 23 flight, a total of 165 bank anglers on the Washington shore and 756 boats were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream. The majority of the private boats (547) and 25 charter boats were counted in the estuary and the bank anglers from just below Bonneville Dam and in the estuary. At the Deep River and Knappton ramps, boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 2.3 rods last week. Bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam and in the estuary were also catching some legals. A lot of the legal sized fish in the estuary were reported to be very fat and close to the 4 foot range. Anglers using fresh anchovies (when available), frozen smelt, and sand shrimp were catching fish. At the ports of Chinook and Ilwaco, private boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every a legal kept per every 2.9 rods while almost all the charter boat anglers had caught their one-fish limits. Anglers are reminded the boat fishing restriction for sturgeon from Beacon Rock upstream has been extended through July 15. Bonneville Pool - Effort and catch increased last week. Boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 4.25 rods last week. Bank anglers were also catching a few legals. John Day Pool - Boat anglers were catching a few legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Counting fish released, boat anglers averaged slightly better than 8 bass per rod last week. No effort was observed for walleye. John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged slightly better than a 1/3 walleye per rod last week while bass anglers averaged 2 fish per rod. Trout Mayfield and Riffe Reservoirs - Bank and boat anglers are generally catching 1-2 fish a rod. Klineline Pond - Producing some rainbows. Southwest Washington waters recently planted with catchable size trout: Rowland Lake near Lyle - 1,400 rainbows Council Lake - 3,600 eastern brooks Takhlakh Lake - 3,800 eastern brooks Shad Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam averaged 2.3 shad per rod last week. Boat anglers from Camas/Washougal upstream averaged slightly less than 2 shad per rod. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for June 11-17, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - Some hatchery summer-run steelhead and a few spring chinook were landed this past week. Lewis River - Producing some spring chinook adults, jacks, and mini-jacks. Through June 12 over 1000 spring chinook had returned to the facilities. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,200 cfs today. Wind River - The upper river between Stabler and the deadline below the hatchery produced about a fish for every two anglers last week. Drano Lake - Effort is low, and very little was caught last week. White Salmon River - No sampling data was available for last week. Klickitat River - No sampling data was available for last week. Through June 13 about 172 spring chinook had returned to Klickitat Hatchery. Lower Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream - Effort is increasing, catch was about one steelhead for every 12.5 anglers, including fish released. Best catches were from Longview Bridge downstream. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort last weekend was just about double the previous weekend. Sturgeon boat anglers averaged about one legal for every three anglers with the best catch downriver at Knappton and Deep River. Bank anglers averaged about one legal for every 25 anglers with the best catches happening at Knappton and Deep River and just below Bonneville Dam. Data was not available for the ports of Chinook and Ilwaco. During the June 17 flight, a total of 532 sturgeon boats were counted from Beacon Rock downstream. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged a legal kept for every 17 anglers. Bank anglers averaged a legal kept for every 11 anglers. John Day Pool - Boat and bank anglers landed a few legals. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - The few bass anglers interviewed did very well with 15 fish for the boat angler and 6 fish for the bank angler, including fish released. John Day Pool - Including fish released boat anglers averaged about one walleye for every two anglers and about three bass for each angler. Trout Klineline Pond - Producing some rainbows. Riffe Lake - Sample data was not available for Riffe Lake for last week. Recent releases of catchable size trout: Sacajawea Lake near Longview - 2,800 browns Swift Power Canal - 1,000 rainbows Lewis and Clark Park - 200 rainbows Skate Creek - 3,500 rainbows Tilton River - 3,700 rainbow Shad Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Last week, bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam including Hamilton Island averaged 3 fish per rod. During the June 17 flight there were 104 bank anglers fishing for shad on the Washington side. Boat anglers in the Camas/Washougal area averaged 4.7 fish per rod. Shad counts at Bonneville Dam total 1,925,812 through June 17. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for June 4-10, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Through June 7, a total of 552 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,580 cfs today. Kalama River - Producing some hatchery summer-run steelhead and a few spring chinook. Lewis River - Also producing hatchery summer-run steelhead and spring chinook including some mini-jacks 12-14 inches long. Through June 7, nearly 1,000 spring chinook had returned to the facilities. Through today (June 11) nearly 1,000 hatchery summer run steelhead had returned. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,400 cfs today. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through June 7, nearly 400 hatchery summer-run steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. Wind River - Upper river between Stabler and the deadline below the hatchery produced about ½ fish per person last week. Through June 7, over 10,000 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Drano Lake - Effort remains low. However, some guides did very well there last week. White Salmon and Klickitat rivers - Little effort and catch for spring chinook. Through June 7, a total of 135 spring chinook had returned to Klickitat Salmon Hatchery. Lower Columbia below the I-5 Bridge - Effort and catches are increasing. Based mainly on incomplete trips, bank anglers on the Washington shore averaged a hatchery steelhead per every 11.3 rods with best catches from Longview downstream last week. During the Saturday June 9 flight, a total of 234 bank anglers targeting salmonids was counted on the Washington shore. Slightly over half were counted just downstream from Longview. Beginning Saturday June 16, the mainstem Columbia from the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco downstream to the I-5 Bridge opens to fishing for hatchery steelhead, chinook jacks, and sockeye. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort and catches were high last weekend. At the Knappton and Deep River ramps in the estuary, boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 2 rods last weekend. Some legals were also being caught off the bank in the estuary and just below Bonneville Dam. At the ports of Chinook and Ilwaco, private boat anglers averaged a fish per every 2.6 rods while charter boat anglers averaged over a fish per rod when averaging in legals kept and released. The large numbers of legals released and heavy effort last weekend may have been attributed to fishing derbies. During the June 9 flight, a total of 529 sturgeon boats were counted from Beacon Rock downstream. Over half (301) of the private boat plus 19 charters were counted in the estuary. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 7.5 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 14.5 rods. Through May 31, an estimated 994 of the 1,520 fish guideline had been taken. John Day Pool - Boat anglers were catching a few legal sized fish last week. Through May 31, an estimated 35 of the 560 fish guideline had been taken. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Bank and boat anglers are doing well for bass with an overall catch of 10 fish per person. No effort was observed for walleye. John Day Dam - Counting fish released, boat anglers averaged 2 walleye per rod. Bass anglers were also doing well with an average of 8 fish per person. Trout Klineline Pond - Bank anglers averaged a fish per person last week. The pond was recently planted with 1,100 rainbows averaging a pound each. Other Southwest Washington waters recently planted with rainbows: Battleground Lake - 1,300 catchables and 1,600 averaging a pound each; Catchable size rainbows were planted in Klickitat County in the following waters: Bird Creek - 850 Blockhouse Creek - 170 Bloodgood Creek - 170 Bowman Creek - 400 Horsethief Lake - 3,900 Little Klickitat River - 700 Maryhill Pond - 400 Mill Creek - 400 Outlet Creek - 850 Spearfish Lake - 1,800 Spring Creek - 1,700 The Tilton River, Skate Creek, Mayfield Lake, and Lake Scanewa are scheduled to receive plants of trout this week. Shad Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Last week, bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam including Hamilton Island averaged 5 fish per rod based on mainly incomplete trips. There were 267 bank anglers fishing for shad there during the June 9 flight. Boat anglers in the Camas/Washougal area averaged 3.9 fish per rod based on mainly complete trips last week. Shad counts at Bonneville and The Dalles dams were near 100,000 fish/day for several days last week. Nearly 1.8 million shad had been counted at The Dalles Dam through June 10. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for May 28-June 3, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Approximately 500 spring chinook were on hand by the end of May. The hatchery escapement goal is 1,150 fish. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Kalama River - Anglers are catching some steelhead and a few spring chinook. Through May, a total of 300 spring chinook had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. The hatchery escapement goal is 450 fish. The pre-season run forecast of 1,000 fish has been updated to 1,500. Lewis River - Boat anglers are catching some spring chinook and hatchery summer-run steelhead. Through May, over 900 spring chinook and 500 hatchery summer-run steelhead had returned to the facilities. The hatchery escapement goal of 750 spring chinook has been met. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,700 cfs today. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through May 30, a total of 290 hatchery summer-run steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. Wind River - Catch and effort is beginning to taper off. Last week, anglers in the upper river averaged about ½ fish per person. A few fish continue to be taken below Shipherd Falls and in the Coffer Dam area. Through May 27, an estimated 10,000 spring chinook had been caught from Wind River. Hatchery escapement through May 31 was 7,637 fish. Drano Lake - Effort and catches are almost nil. Only a handful of anglers per day are found here. Through May 27, an estimated 3,250 spring chinook had been caught in the sport fishery. Through May, slightly over 800 fish had returned to the hatchery. The hatchery continues to collect fish in small increments throughout the run while the hatchery is under construction. Adding the tribal catch, the Drano Lake return is expected to reach 14,000 fish. The pre-season forecast was 11,100. White Salmon River - Effort and catches are almost nil here too. Klickitat River - Light effort and catches from the river downstream from the Fisher Hill Bridge. Through May, a total of 100 spring chinook had returned to Klickitat Salmon Hatchery. The hatchery escapement goal is 500 fish. Lower Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line - Bank anglers from Longview downstream averaged a hatchery summer-run steelhead per every 14.5 rods last week. Upriver Spring Chinook - The final count at Bonneville Dam was 391,818 adult and 14,174 jack spring chinook. Adding the lower river sport and commercial harvests to the dam counts, an estimated 417,800 upriver spring chinook returned to the mouth of the Columbia in 2001. This year's jack return is the forth highest since adult and jack counts were separated beginning in 1960. Upriver Steelhead - Steelhead counts at Bonneville Dam are 166% of the recent ten-year average. Through June 3, a total of 7,631 steelhead had been counted. The recent ten-year average is 4,600. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Last weekend, boat anglers sampled at the Deep River and Knappton ramps in the estuary averaged a legal kept per every 3.7 rods. Not a lot of fish being caught overall but quite a few of the fish kept were near the four foot range. At the Ports of Chinook and Ilwaco from May 23-28, private boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 6.3 rods while charter boaters averaged one per every 1.8. Bank anglers in the Bonneville and estuary area are catching a few legals. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 6.5 rods last week. John Day Pool - Continues to be slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged 13.5 bass per person while bank anglers averaged 4 each. No in-sample effort for walleye was observed. John Day Pool - Fishing has slowed for walleye. No reported effort for bass last week. Trout Klineline Pond - The 38 bank anglers sampled last week kept 26 rainbows and released 4 others. Recent trout plants: Canyon Creek in Clark County - 8,500 rainbows ranging from slightly less than ½ pound to slightly more than a pound each. Little White Salmon River - 3,500 rainbows slightly less than ½ pound each. Shad Based on mostly incomplete trips, bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam including Hamilton and Cascade islands averaged 4.8 shad per rod last week. Based on complete trips, boat anglers just below Bonneville Dam and in the Camas/Washougal area averaged about 5 fish per rod. Shad counts at Bonneville and The Dalles Dam reached 144,300 and 157,700 fish, respectively, on June 1. Through June 3, approximately a million shad had been counted at each dam. The recent ten-year average is about 300,000 fish. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for May 21-27, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,580 cfs today. Kalama River - Continues to produce some spring chinook and hatchery steelhead. Lewis River - Also producing some spring chinook and hatchery steelhead. Through May 24, a total of 614 spring chinook had returned to the facilities. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 3,300 cfs today. Effective today (Tuesday May 29), the angling restrictions have been lifted on the Lewis River. The Lewis from the mouth to the forks and the North Fork from the mouth to the overhead powerlines below Merwin Dam are open to fishing for salmon and hatchery steelhead. Anglers will be able to keep 6 salmon, no more than 2 adults. The boat fishing restriction has been lifted from Johnson Creek upstream. Wind River - Fishing is slow and effort is waning at the mouth and in the gorge. Only a couple boats were observed at the mouth and only 2 cars were found at the Little Wind parking area today. Lots of spring chinook are present from the coffer dam upstream to the deadline below the hatchery. Last week, bank anglers in that section of river averaged 0.85 chinook per rod. Nearly a hundred cars were counted at the Mile Post 7 parking lot on Friday and Sunday. Through May 24, a total of 2,558 spring chinook had returned to Carson National Fish Hatchery. Drano Lake - Last week, boat anglers averaged a fish per every 4.1 rods last week. Nearly ½ the sampled catch was by guides. Effort is beginning to wane with peak counts usually less than 20 boats/day. Tommorow is the last Wednesday closure. White Salmon River - Nearly non-existent catch or effort. Klickitat River - Producing a few spring chinook. Beginning June 1, the river from the mouth to the Fisher Hill Bridge will be open 7 days/week and the salmon daily limit will be 6 fish, no more than 2 adults. The river from 400 feet upstream to the boundary markers below the Klickitat Salmon Hatchery will be open to fishing for hatchery steelhead and jack chinook. Through May 24, a total of 66 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Lower Columbia from I-5 Bridge downstream to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line - Effort was fairly heavy during last Saturday's (May 26) flight. Over 300 bank anglers were counted on the Washington shore. About 2/3 of the effort was found just below Longview. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort and catch has increased off the Washington bank just below Bonneville Dam. A total of 168 bank rods were counted there during the Saturday flight. Anglers are catching some legals there. Bank anglers were also catching a few fish in the estuary. Boat angling effort was high last weekend A total of 569 boats were counted during last Saturday's flight. Two hundred fifty private boats plus 14 charters were counted in the estuary and 142 boats were counted in the gorge just downstream from Beacon Rock. Sturgeon fishing is improving in the estuary. Last weekend, private boat anglers sampled at the Deep River and Knappton ramps averaged a legal kept per every 4.2 rods. At the Ports of Chinook and Ilwaco, private boat anglers averaged a legal kept per every 9 rods while charter boaters averaged one per 5.3 rods from May 18-22. Bonneville Pool - Counting fish released, boat anglers averaged a legal per every 3.5 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 5.8. John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching a few legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - The few boat anglers were catching some walleye and the few bank anglers had some bass. John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged a walleye and over 5 bass per rod. Trout Klineline Pond - Bank anglers are catching some trout. Riffe Lake - No report on angling success. The reservoir was reported 53 feet below full today. The boat ramp at Mossyrock Park was reported to be useable. Recent trout releases: Lacamas Lake near Camas - 1,142 brown trout averaging ½ pound each; Kress Lake near Kalama - 1,400 catchable size rainbows; Goose Lake north of Carson - 6,300 brown trout and 5,675 cutthroat averaging about ½ pound each. Kidney Lake near North Bonneville - 500 triploid trophy rainbows averaging about 2 pounds each. Shad Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam, on Cascade Island and lower Hamilton Island averaged over 6 shad per rod based on incomplete trips. One party of 4 anglers had over 90 shad. Several other parties had 30-40 fish. Nearly 300 bank anglers were counted there during the Saturday flight. Boat anglers in the Camas/Washougal area averaged 1.4 shad per rod based on completed trips. Over 104,000 and 88,000 shad were counted at The Dalles Dam and Bonneville Dam on Sunday May 27, respectively. Shad counts are typically higher at The Dalles Dam because some fish swim through the locks at Bonneville Dam. Through May 28, nearly ½ million shad had been counted at both dams. In addition to a non-agency link for dam counts, angler checks and a Fact Sheet about shad can be found on the department's web site. The address is www.wa.gov/wdfw. Look under the fishing/shellfishing section. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for May 14-20, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Kalama River - Anglers continue to catch some spring chinook and steelhead. Through May 16, a total of 12 hatchery and 15 wild summer run steelhead plus 95 adult spring chinook had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. Lewis River - Producing some spring chinook and steelhead. Through May 16, a total of 165 hatchery summer run steelhead and 122 adult spring chinook had returned to Merwin Dam. Around 300 steelhead were reported in the trap last Friday. Washougal River - No report on angling success. Through May 16, a total of 108 hatchery summer run steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. Wind River - Until mid-week, lots of spring chinook were caught in the gorge just downstream from Shipherd Falls. Overall, anglers averaged a fish per every 2.4 rods last week. Most of the catch is now occurring in the coffer dam area just upstream from the falls where anglers averaged 0.8 fish per rod. Some four-fish limits are being taken. A few fish are still being caught at the mouth though fishing is typically slow. Peak counts are usually less than 40 boats/day. Through May 17, a total of 536 spring chinook had returned to Carson National Fish Hatchery. Drano Lake - Fairly good catches early last week and after the re-opener on Thursday. Fishing has slowed since. Including jacks (which comprised a 1/3 of the catch), boat anglers averaged a fish per every 3.2 rods last week. Peak boat counts were less than 60 boats/day. The trap at Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery was opened for 5-minutes last week. A total of 412 fish were collected during that period. White Salmon River- Effort was non-existent last week. Klickitat River - Generally, a few spring chinook being caught each open day. Effort is beginning to taper off. Through May 16, a total of 32 adult spring chinook had returned to Klickitat Hatchery. Lower Columbia below the I-5 Bridge - The 10 bank anglers sampled in the Vancouver-Woodland area had no catch last week. Almost 100 salmonid bank anglers were counted on the Washington shore from Vancouver downstream to Cathlamet during the Sunday May 20 flight. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - The 4 bank anglers sampled in the Vancouver area last week had no catch. On the Sunday May 20 flight, over 400 sturgeon boats were counted from Beacon Rock downstream. Heaviest effort was found at both ends of the river; 125 boats in the gorge and 96 private boats plus 6 charters in the estuary. Almost 100 sturgeon bank rods were counted on the Washington side just below Bonneville Dam. Bonneville Pool - Anglers are catching a few legals. Through April 30, an estimated 886 fish of the 1,520 guideline had been taken. John Day Pool - Slow for legal size fish. Through April 30, an estimated 12 fish of the 560 guideline had been taken. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Boat and bank anglers nearly 4 bass per rod last week. No in-sample effort for walleye was found. John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged 7 bass per rod last week. Effort and catch for walleye was light. Trout Klineline Pond - The 104 bank anglers sampled last week kept 74 rainbows and 1 triploid plus released 18 rainbows. Recent plants of catchable trout: Battle Ground Lake - 1,300 rainbows and 2,500 eastern brooks; Horsethief Lake near Lyle - 2,900 rainbows; Spearfish Lake near Dallesport - 1,400 rainbows; Fort Borst Pond near Centralia - 1,000 rainbows; Carlisle Lake near Onalaska - 2,000 rainbows; Kidney Lake near North Bonneville - 1,300 rainbows Shad Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No report on angling success. Bonneville Dam counts were 4,500-4,700 fish/day last weekend. Through May 20, nearly 34,000 shad had been counted at the dam. Forty shad bank rods were counted in the Hamilton/Cascade Island area during the Sunday May 20 flight. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for May 7-13, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Through May 10, a total of 464 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,550 cfs today. Kalama River - Producing some spring chinook and steelhead. Some of the chinook have been over 30 pounds. Through May 10, a total of 26 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Lewis River - Some spring chinook are being caught by bank anglers near the hatchery and by boat anglers downstream. Through May 6, a total of 56 spring chinook had returned to the facilities. Wind River - Best success for spring chinook was in the river itself. Bank anglers in the gorge downstream from Shipherd Falls and in the upper river above Shipherd Falls averaged a fish per every 2.6 and 2.4 rods, respectively, last week. Boat anglers at the mouth averaged a fish per every 7.1 rods. Peak boat counts are less than 80/day. Through Monday May 14, over 350 spring chinook had returned to Carson Hatchery. Through May 6, an estimated 2,075 spring chinook had been caught from the Wind River. Effective May 17, the daily limit increases to a total of 4 salmon or hatchery steelhead of which no more than 2 may be steelhead. Drano Lake - Counting jacks, boat anglers averaged a fish per every 2.9 rods last week. Peak boat counts are less than 60/day. Through May 6, an estimated 2,350 spring chinook had been caught from Drano Lake. The hatchery ladder is expected to open, albeit briefly, this week. Effective May 17, the daily limit increases to a total of 4 salmon or hatchery steelhead of which no more than 2 may be steelhead. White Salmon River - Effort had been low. Klickitat River - Producing a few fish/day for bank anglers on the lower river. Through May 6, an estimated 61 spring chinook had been caught. Ringold - Extremely low water reduced catches and effort over the weekend. Weekdays were good with catches about the same as the previous week. Ringold closes to fishing for spring chinook effective 12:01 AM May 15. Yakima River - Fishing remained fair to good in the lower section (Zillah to Granger) and really picked up in the upper section (Terrace Heights Bridge) last week. Bonneville Dam counts - Through May 13, a total of 9,219 spring chinook jacks had been counted at Bonneville Dam. With the exception of last year's record return, this year's jack return is already the largest since 1976. Daily counts have been around 500 jacks/day. There are over two more weeks of counting spring chinook at the dam. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No report. Bonneville Pool - Anglers are catching a few legals. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged 6 bass per rod last week. Bank anglers were also catching a few bass. Little effort for walleye. John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged nearly 6 bass per rod last week. Effort and catch for walleye was low. Trout Riffe Lake - The lake was reported 74 feet below full pool today. The old road near Mossyrock Park can be used as a boat ramp. Klineline Pond - Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged about a fish per person last week. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for April 30-May 6, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Through May 3, a total of 21 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,550 cfs today. Kalama River - Some spring chinook and steelhead are being caught. Through May 3, a total of 16 spring chinook had returned to the hatchery. Lewis River - Overall, boat anglers averaged a fish per every 4 rods last week. Most of the catch occurred early in the week just after the river flows increased. Summer steelhead are also present in the North Fork Lewis. Through May 3, a total of 5 spring chinook had returned to the facilities. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 3,500 cfs today. Wind River - Pretty slow for boat and bank anglers at the mouth. Boat anglers averaged a fish for every 16.5 rods while few fish had been reported caught from the bank. Peak boat counts are now less than 100 per day. It appears spurts of fish are moving quickly through the gorge below Shipherd Falls. Last week, bank anglers there averaged a fish per every 4.8 rods. No catch has been observed from the upper river although 7 spring chinook had returned to Carson Hatchery through today. Through April 29, an estimated 1,862 fish had been caught at Wind River. An estimated 3,000 fish had been caught through the same time last year. Drano Lake - Continues to be slightly better than the Wind River. Last week, boat anglers averaged a fish per every 5.7 rods. Peak effort was on Thursday when 100 boats were counted. Little White Salmon Hatchery trap remains closed to date. Through April 29, an estimated 2,141 fish had been caught at Drano Lake. An estimated 1,874 fish had been caught through the same time last year. White Salmon River - Catch and effort has dropped off recently. Klickitat River - Producing some spring chinook. Ringold - Fishing was slower early in the week but improved as the weather improved. Overall, bank anglers averaged a fish per every 5.5 rods last week. Through May 6, over 1,000 fish had been estimated to be caught. The Dalles Pool - Effort was fairly heavy on the opener Sunday but catches were light. Around the mouth of the Deschutes, about 80 boats were counted Sunday morning with slightly fewer just below John Day Dam. Near the mouth of the Deschutes River, 64 boat anglers sampled had kept 1 chinook. John Day Pool - Effort was reported heavy from Irrigon upstream to McNary Dam with 200 boats counted in one area. Though actual creel sampling data is currently unavailable, fishing was reported slow to fair. Bonneville Dam spring chinook count had a little spike last Friday (May 4) when over 8,000 adults were counted. Through May 6, a total of 332,203 adults have been counted. This compares to the recent 10-year average of 48,126 fish. Jack counts at Bonneville Dam have increased the last few days. Nearly 800 jacks were counted on Friday and over 400 fish were counted each day this past weekend. Through May 6, a total of 4,472 jacks have been counted. This year's jack return to date is 470% of the recent 10-year average (952 fish) but 38% of last year's record run. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No report. Bonneville Pool - A few legals are being caught here. John Day Pool - No report. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - The few boat anglers sampled had caught over 13 bass per person. No effort was found for walleye. John Day Pool - No report. Trout Klineline Pond - 166 bank anglers sampled last week kept 172 rainbows and released 25 others. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for April 23-29, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Kalama River - Producing some spring chinook and steelhead. Lewis River - Producing some spring chinook. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,600 cfs today. Starting tomorrow (May 1) the North Fork Lewis River from Colvin Creek (just upstream from the salmon hatchery) downstream to Johnson Creek (located below the salmon hatchery) will be open to bank fishing only through July 31. The North Fork Lewis River from Colvin Creek upstream to Merwin Dam closes to all fishing beginning May 1. This area is scheduled to re-open to fishing for hatchery steelhead beginning June 16 and salmon on August 1. Wind River - Still fairly slow overall with spurts of good fishing, primarily in the afternoon. Typically over a hundred boats/day, even during weekdays. Based on a trap for steelhead at Shipherd Falls, over 500 spring chinook have passed Shipherd Falls. The trap is being removed for the season today. The river has rose about 2 feet and become turbid in the last 24 hours. The upper river from 100 feet above Shipherd Falls upstream to 800 yards below Carson National Fish Hatchery (with the exception of the closed waters around the coffer dam just upstream from Shipherd Falls) opens to fishing for salmon and hatchery steelhead beginning tomorrow (May 1). Drano Lake - Effort is slightly less and catches slightly better here than at Wind River. Fishing was good following the Wednesday closure. Boat anglers averaged 0.4 fish/rod last Thursday. About 100 boats/day with effort a little lighter last weekend. Drano Lake continues to be closed on Wednesdays through May. Based on coded wire tag recoveries, some Wind River fish are appearing in the Drano Lake catch. White Salmon River - Producing some spring chinook for bank anglers in the newly expanded mouth area. Klickitat River - Producing some spring chinook for bank anglers downstream from the Fisher Hill Bridge. Water was rising and becoming turbid today. Yakima River - Producing a few spring chinook. Through Sunday April 29, an estimated 64spring chinook had been caught. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Currently closed to fishing for salmon and steelhead. From last Wednesday through Sunday (April 25-29), boat anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 7.7 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 17.1. Through yesterday (April 29), over 300,000 adult and 2,000 jack spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam. This compares to the recent 10-year average of 33,800 and 300 adults and jacks, respectively. This year's jack return is 36% of the last year's record return. Today, fish managers updated the upriver run size to 400,000 fish. After tomorrow's Compact Hearing, the Oregon and Washington departments of fish and wildlife will update the sport catch estimates for the mainstem Columbia. If impact levels remain, the departments will consider using them for mainstem sport fisheries above Bonneville Dam. Ringold - Fishing was very good all last week until the blustery weather and showers over the weekend. Overall, bank anglers averaged a chinook per every 7.2 rods last week. An estimated 600 spring chinook have been caught since the April 21 opener. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Best fishing was for boat anglers in the gorge that averaged 2 legals/boat last week. Fishing off the Washington shore remains slow. Boat anglers are reminded fishing for sturgeon from Beacon Rock upstream to Bonneville Dam is prohibited May 1 through July 15. Bonneville Pool - Counting fish released, boat anglers averaged 1/3 legal per rod last week. A few legals are being caught from the bank. Through April 22, an estimated 868 of the 1,520 fish guideline had been taken. John Day Pool - Boat anglers were catching a few legals. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Slow for walleye. Boat anglers averaged 1.4 bass per rod. John Day Pool - Slow for walleye. Boat anglers averaged 4.0 bass per rod. Trout Opening day creel census information and recent plant information (includes some year-round lakes): Mineral Lake - On opening morning (April 28), 523 boats and 938 fishers were counted. Angling success was good with an average of 2.5 trout per person. Battleground Lake - 2.7 trout/rod; planted with 3,763 rainbows weighing just under a pound each Horseshoe Lake at Woodland - 2.7 trout/rod; planted with 8,050 catchable size browns Horsethief Lake - 0.8 trout/rod Rowland Lake near Lyle - 3.5 trout/rod Spearfish Lake near Dallesport - 2.1 trout/rod Icehouse Lake near Bridge of the Gods - 3.3 trout/rod Kidney Lake near North Bonneville 2.5 trout/rod Little Ash Lake near Stevenson - 2.5 trout/rod Swift Reservoir on North Fork Lewis River- 2.0 trout/rod Klineline Pond - 1.4 trout/rod; 6,274 rainbows just under a pound each plus 4,018 catchables Lacamas Lake near Camas - 5,563 rainbows just under a pound each Kress Lake near Kalama - 8,000 catchable size browns Sacajawea Lake in Longview - 8,650 catchable browns Reservoir levels below full pool as of Friday April 27: Swift Reservoir - 7.5 feet Yale Reservoir - 10.75 feet Merwin Reservoir - 1.75 feet Riffe Lake - 94.4 feet (as of today) WDFW Sport Sampling Results for April 16-22, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Kalama River - Anglers are catching some spring chinook and summer-run steelhead. Lewis River - Last week, boat anglers averaged a spring chinook per every 5 rods. Most of the fish sampled were caught in the North Fork. Bank anglers are also catching a few fish. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,450 cfs today. Wind River - Fishing for spring chinook was fair -to- good at times during the week but slow last weekend. On Saturday, 156 boats were sampled with 26 spring chinook. A total of 230 boats were counted there on Saturday morning. Effort was about half that on Sunday and catches were only slightly better. Nearly 70 citations were given to boat anglers outside the deadline this past weekend. Some cars parked in no-parking areas along Highway 14 were towed away. Some anglers continue to release unclipped spring chinook, thinking the tributaries are also selective fisheries which they are not. Drano Lake - Overall, boat and bank anglers averaged a spring chinook per every 4.1 rods last week. Boat anglers averaged about 2/3 fish per rod on the Thursday re-opener. A total of 127 boats were counted there on Saturday (April 21). White Salmon River - Continues to produce some spring chinook for bank anglers at the newly expanded area at the mouth. Klickitat River - Spring chinook catches are gradually increasing. The river remains low and clear. Yakima River - Creel sampling information is currently unavailable but general reports were a few spring chinook were caught and river flows were low. Ringold - The bank only fishery on the hatchery side of the river opened with a bang last weekend. Anglers averaged a chinook per every 3.2 rods. Most of the anglers are plunking. Flows are fairly low and stable. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Re-opens to fishing for hatchery spring chinook, hatchery steelhead, and shad from Wednesday April 25-Sunday April 29. Late last week, fishery managers updated the upriver run size from the pre-season forecast of 364,600 to 440,000 fish. Managers will update the run size again tomorrow (Tuesday April 24). Bonneville Dam counts appear to have peaked out at 27,000 fish on Wednesday April 18. Nearly 20,000 fish were counted at The Dalles Dam on Friday April 20. Last weekend, between 7,100 and 7,500 fish were counted each day at Bonneville Dam. Through April 22, a total of 262,395 adult and 655 jack spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam. This compares to the recent 10 year average of 28,943 adults and 199 jacks. In 2000, a total of 2,031 jacks had been counted through April 22. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - The 26 bank anglers sampled from Longview to Cathlamet had no catch last week. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Dam - Boat anglers in Bonneville Pool averaged a legal kept per every 6 rods last week. Bank anglers were also catching some legals there. Boat anglers in John Day Pool were catching a few legals. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Slow for walleye in John Day Pool. Boat anglers averaged slightly better than 3 bass per rod there. Trout Recent releases of catchable size brown trout: South Lewis County Pond near Toledo - 4,100 fish Swofford Pond near Mossyrock - 4,100 fish Last Friday, Swift Reservoir was reported 13 feet below full pool. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for April 9-15, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Kalama River - Slow for boat anglers last week. Lewis River - Producing some spring chinook near the hatchery. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,000 cfs today. East Fork Lewis River - Under permanent regulations, re-opens today (April 16) to fishing for hatchery steelhead from the top boat ramp at Lewisville Park downstream to the mouth. Effective June 1, the river from the mouth to Horseshoe Falls (with the exceptions of closures around the falls) will be open to fishing for trout including hatchery steelhead. Washougal River - Under permanent regulations, re-opens today (April 16), to fishing for hatchery steelhead from the Mt. Norway Bridge at Vernon Road downstream. Effective June 1, the river from the mouth to Salmon Falls Bridge will be open to fishing for trout including hatchery steelhead. Wind River - Spring chinook catches are improving. Last week, boat anglers averaged slightly better than 1/3 fish per rod. On Saturday (April 14) morning, 123 boats were counted there. Drano Lake - Spring chinook catches are also improving here. Last week, boat anglers averaged a fish per every 5.3 rods. Around a hundred boats were counted on Friday (April 13) morning and 127 boats on Saturday (April 14) morning. Anglers are reminded beginning this week, Drano Lake is closed to all fishing on Wednesdays through May. White Salmon River - The newly expanded bank fishing area at the mouth of the river continues to produce good catches of spring chinook. Last week, bank anglers averaged better than a 1/3 fish per rod. Klickitat River - Beginning to produce a few spring chinook and hatchery steelhead. Mainstem Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Angling effort for salmonids continues at record levels. On the Saturday (April 14) flight, a total of 3,078 boats and 2,787 bank anglers were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream to Buoy 10. Last week, boat anglers averaged a fish kept per every 4.6 rods while Washington shore anglers averaged one per every 11.2. At Bonneville Dam, a total of 19,192 adult spring chinook were counted yesterday (Sunday April 15). Through April 15, a total of 169,704 adult and 245 jack spring chinook had been counted. This compares to the recent 10-year average of 13,496 adults and 53 jacks. Though still early in the season, this year's jack return is tracking about ½ of last years record count. The Washington and Oregon departments of fish and wildlife will have a conference call this Friday (April 20) to update the upriver spring chinook run size and the mainstem sport catch estimates. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Catches are spread out from the gorge downstream to Kalama. Fishing from the Washington shore remains slow. Bonneville Pool - Anglers are catching some legal sized fish. John Day Pool - Remains fairly slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - Light effort and catch for walleye but boat anglers averaged nearly 3 bass per rod. John Day Pool - Light effort and catch for walleye. Boat anglers averaged slight more than a bass per rod. Trout Klineline Pond - Producing a variety of trout including some brood stock rainbows and surplus hatchery steelhead. Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged nearly 2 fish per rod last week. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for April 2-8, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No actual creel sampling but the hatchery reports high numbers of winter steelhead are being caught. Through April 8, a total of 7 spring chinook had returned to Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Kalama River - Producing some spring chinook and steelhead. Lewis River - Producing some spring chinook. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,900 cfs today. Wind River - Last weekend, effort was high but catches were low. On Saturday morning, 118 boats were counted. Creel sampling showed 2 chinook for the 50 boats sampled on Saturday and Sunday. Drano Lake - Effort was less and the catch was higher at Drano Lake last weekend. On Saturday, around 75 boats were counted. On Sunday, creel sampling showed 12 chinook for 13 boats. Bank anglers are also catching some fish. White Salmon River - Bank anglers fishing in the newly expanded area at the mouth of the White Salmon River are catching some spring chinook. Klickitat River - Few spring chinook reported caught. River flows are at fall season low levels. Mainstem Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort and catches are intense. On the Saturday April 7 flight, a total of 2,164 boats and 1,183 bank anglers were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream to the mouth. The highest counts were 428 boats in the Camas/Washougal area and over 600 bank anglers in the Hamilton/Cascade Island area. Best fishing was in the gorge area where counting fish released, boat anglers averaged a chinook per every 2.3 rods and bank anglers averaged one per every 2.9 rods last week. Through March 31, an estimated 0.15% of the 0.8% impact level of the listed upper Columbia/Snake River wild spring chinook had been used. On Wednesday, the states of Washington and Oregon will have a telephone call to discuss updated catch estimates through the first week of April and whether adjustments are necessary to keep the fishery open through April. On Friday April 6, a total of 13,156 adult chinook were counted at Bonneville Dam. This single day count surpassed the entire upper Columbia spring chinook return in 1995. Through April 8, a total of 67,904 adult spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam. This compares to the recent 10 year average of 3,825 fish. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Boat anglers from Bonneville Dam downstream to Kalama area are catching some legals. Bank angling off the Washington shore is slow. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged 1/3 legal per rod last week. Through March 25, an estimated 746 of the 1,520 fish guideline had been taken. The Dalles Pool - Now closed to sturgeon retention because the 700 fish guideline had been taken. John Day Pool - Slow for legal size fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Boat anglers are finding a few walleye in The Dalles and John Day pools. Boat anglers are catching some bass in John Day Pool. Trout Recent releases of catchable size trout: Mayfield Lake - 3,400 rainbows averaging about a pound each South Lewis County Park Pond near Toledo - 3,000 rainbows Kress Lake near Kalama - 3,000 rainbows Silver Lake near Castle Rock - 5,000 rainbows Ice House Lake near Bridge of the Gods - 1,050 rainbows averaging about 2/3 pound each Little Ash Lake near Stevenson - 1,075 rainbows averaging about 2/3 pound each WDFW Sport Sampling Results for March 26-April 1, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Through March 28, a total of 4 adult spring chinook had returned to Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,550 cfs today. Kalama River - Producing some steelhead. A few spring chinook are also being reported caught. Lewis River - A few spring chinook are reported being caught near the salmon hatchery. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,700 cfs today. Wind River - Last week's catches remain about the same as the previous week with a spring chinook kept per every 16.1 boat anglers. Forty-seven boats were counted there Saturday (March 31) morning. Drano Lake - A little bit better than the Wind River last week. Boat anglers averaged a spring chinook per every 11.4 boat anglers. About three dozen boats were counted there on Saturday morning. White Salmon River - No effort was observed there last week. Klickitat River - Opens to fishing for spring chinook and hatchery steelhead beginning today (April 2). The river from the mouth to the Fisher Hill Bridge is open to fishing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays only through May 30. The daily limit is 1 salmonid, spring chinook or a hatchery steelhead. Any chinook (with or without adipose fins) may be retained. Mainstem Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Spring chinook catches improved for boat anglers. Last week, boat anglers averaged a fish kept/released per every 4.6 rods. Best fishing was in the Cathlamet area where boat anglers averaged a fish kept/released for every 1.9 rods. Best fishing from the Washington shore was in the Hamilton/Cascade Island area just downstream from Bonneville Dam were bank anglers averaged a fish kept/released per every 4.9 rods. Overall, nearly 2/3 of the fish caught from the lower Columbia last week were adipose clipped hatchery fish that could be kept. At Bonneville Dam, 4,227 adult spring chinook were counted on Sunday April 1. Through April 1, a total of 13,276 adult spring chinook have been counted at the dam. This compares to the recent 10-year average of 824 fish. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Sturgeon anglers in the Kalama area averaged nearly ½ legal kept per boat while boaters in the gorge area averaged one per every 6.6 rods. Fishing from the Washington shore is slow. Bonneville Pool - Effort and catch was down last week. The Dalles Pool - Boat anglers averaged a fish kept per every 4.8 rods last week while bank anglers averaged one per every 10.5 rods. Effective April 9, sturgeon will have to be released from the mainstem Columbia and its tributaries from The Dalles Dam upstream to John Day Dam. Washington and Oregon fish managers estimate the harvest guideline of 700 fish will be caught by that date. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Best walleye angling last week was for boat anglers in John Day Pool that averaged a fish kept/released per every 3.7 rods. Some bass are being caught by boat anglers in John Day Pool. Trout Recent plants of catchable size trout: Sacajawea Lake near Longview - 4,313 rainbows; Kress Lake near Kalama - 4,368 rainbows; Klineline Pond near Hazel Dell - 5,012 rainbows; Lacamas lake near Camas - 5,000 brown trout; Fargher Lake (located north of Battle Ground) - 2,000 brown trout WDFW Sport Sampling Results for March 19-25, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report of angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam is expected to be 2,562 cfs today. Lewis River - 11 bank anglers and 3 boaters had no catch last week. Reports of a few spring chinook caught from the lower river. Beginning April 1, the salmon daily limit on the Lewis River, including the North Fork, is reduced to one fish. Flows below Merwin Dam was expected to be 900 cfs today. Wind River and Drano Lake - Catch and effort continues to gradually increase. Boat anglers at Wind River are doing best with a chinook per every 14.9 rods last week. Some reports of fish being caught off the bank from both areas. Peak hourly efforts count at Wind River and Drano Lake last week were 40 and 21 boats, respectively. White Salmon River - The bank fishing area at the mouth of the (Big) White Salmon River is enlarged to the area between the boundary markers on the east and west shores, southerly to the buoys, and the east and east between the buoys beginning April 1. The daily limit also changes to 2 salmonids, either salmon or hatchery steelhead. Klickitat River - The Klickitat River opens to fishing for salmon and hatchery steelhead beginning April 2. Fishing is allowed Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The daily limit is one salmonid, either a salmon or hatchery steelhead. Through March 24, a total of 3,449 adult spring chinook have passed over Bonneville Dam. On Saturday March 24 the daily count over Bonneville Dam was 704 adult spring chinook. The dam counts can be found on the US Army Corps of Engineers Fish Count Website. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Aerial flights on Saturday March 24, slightly less than half (242) of the 494 bank anglers on the Washington side were found just below Bonneville Dam. For the week, bank anglers there averaged a salmon kept or released per every 3.7 rods. On average, 65% of the fish caught were hatchery origin and could be kept. A total of 657 bank anglers were counted on the Oregon shore from Bonneville Dam downstream during the same flight. Lots of effort for salmonids from boats from Buoy 10 to Bonneville Dam. The Saturday March 24 flight found 819 boats from Bonneville Dam downstream. Over 200 of the boats were found in the Woodland/ St. Helens area between Warrior Rock to Light #62. Boat anglers on the Lower Columbia averaged a fish kept/released for every 15.1 rods. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool- Bank anglers in John Day Pool averaged 0.4 hatchery steelhead per rod last week. Under permanent regulations, Bonneville Pool upstream to the Hwy. 395 Bridge closes to fishing for trout, including steelhead, on April 1. This area has been closed to salmon angling since the end of last year. Sturgeon Lower Columbia Below Bonneville Dam- Best fishing was for boat anglers in the gorge that averaged nearly 2/3 legal per rod based on completed trips last week. Some legals were also sampled in the Vancouver-Kalama area. From the flight count Saturday March 24, over half (172) of the 288 boats counted from Bonneville Dam downstream were found in the gorge area. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool- Best fishing continues to be for boat anglers in The Dalles Pool where the average was one legal kept per every 3.4 rods last week. Bank anglers in The Dalles and John Day pools were also catching some legals. Preliminary sturgeon harvest estimates through Feb. 28 compared to the guideline: Bonneville Pool - 552 catch; Guideline - 1,520 The Dalles Pool - 188 catch; Guideline - 700 John Day Pool - 0 catch; Guideline - 560 Preliminary March catch estimates indicate that harvest in The Dalles Pool is high. The fishery could close to retention in April. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Counting walleye released, boat anglers averaged a fish per every 5.8 rods in The Dalles Pool and one per every 13.4 rods in John Day Pool. Boat anglers in John Day Pool averaged a bass per person last week. Trout Klineline Pond - Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged slightly better than a fish per person last week. The catch is mainly brown trout followed by catchable size rainbows and steelhead. Recent plants of catchable size rainbows: Horseshoe Lake near Woodland - 4,100 fish Sacajawea Lake near Longview - 3,060 fish Smelt No smelt reported in the Cowlitz last weekend. Quite a few birds were seen working close to the mouth of the Lewis River. Bird and seal activity remains heavy on the Columbia River from Stella downstream to Cathlamet. Sport fishing for smelt closes on April 1. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for March 12-18, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. The river closed to fishing for salmon last Thursday (March 15). One adult spring chinook had returned to the salmon hatchery through March 6. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,560 cfs today. Lewis River - Catch and effort is light. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,000 cfs today. Wind River - A few chinook are being caught each day. Effort counts each day have shown <12 boats at peak. Drano Lake - A few chinook were caught here on the opener (Thursday March 15). About a dozen boats on the opener. There were only three boats on the water this morning (Monday March 19). White Salmon River - No effort was observed here last week. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Though still fairly slow, best catches have been from the bank just below Bonneville Dam and from boats in the Cathlamet and Woodland areas. Overall, bank anglers averaged a chinook kept per every 33 rods while boaters averaged one per every 13.9. WDFW sampling showed 2 out of every 3 fish caught last week were hatchery (adipose clipped) chinook that could be retained. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Bank anglers are catching steelhead in John Day Pool. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Slow from the Washington Shore. Boat anglers are catching a few legals from Kalama to Longview. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Boat anglers in The Dalles Pool averaged a legal kept per every 2.9 rods last week. Bank and boat anglers in Bonneville Pool are catching some legals. John Day Pool remains slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Including walleye released, boat anglers in Bonneville Pool averaged 3/4 fish per person, in The Dalles Pool better than ½ fish per person, and in John Day Pool slightly less than one per every 5 rods. Effort and catch for bass in the three pools were low to non-existent last week. Trout Merwin Reservoir - Boat anglers averaged 4 kokanee per person during a check last week. Forty of the 44 fish sampled were from hatchery releases. The reservoir was reported 5 feet below full pool last Friday (March 16). Klineline Pond - Providing a variety of catchable size rainbows and browns plus some steelhead. Counting fish released, bank anglers averaged almost 2 fish per person last week. Most of the catch were brown trout. Smelt Fish were observed all the way to the base of Bonneville Dam last week. Catches have dropped off in the tributaries. Fishing was scratchy in the Cowlitz River last weekend. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for March 5-11, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. The river closes to fishing for salmon beginning Thursday March 15. Flows below Mayfield Dam expected to be 2,550 cfs today. Lewis River - 7 boat anglers had no catch last week. Interest for spring chinook is beginning to increase and a few spring chinook have been reported caught from the lower river. Flows below Merwin Dam are expected to be 1,000 cfs today. The North Channel around the Island Boat Ramp is difficult to nearly impossible to navigate with a motorized boat at these flows. Wind River and Drano Lake - Open to fishing for spring chinook beginning this Thursday (March 15). Through March 6, a total of 113 spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam. A non-agency link for adult fish counts and the fishing reports can be found under the Fishing/Shellfishing Section of the department's website. Please note: the Army Corps of Engineer's fish count website is not always up and running (at least not recently). Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - A few spring chinook were caught by boat anglers in the Cathlamet and Kalama area last weekend. A few winter-run hatchery steelhead were caught in the Longview area. Overall, fishing was very slow but should continue to improve. Starting today (Monday March 12), the mainstem Columbia from Bonneville Dam downstream will be open to fishing for hatchery salmon, hatchery steelhead and shad. Only adipose clipped chinook and steelhead may be kept. All chinook and steelhead with adipose fins intact must be immediately released unharmed. Lots of effort for salmonids last weekend. Almost 400 boats were counted from the I-5 Bridge downstream during the Saturday, March 10 flight. Boats were found from Buoy 10 upstream. Over a hundred of the boats were found in the Woodland (Warrior Rock downstream to Light #62) area. In addition, 121 bank anglers were counted on the Washington shore and 223 on the Oregon bank from the I-5 Bridge downstream during the same flight. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Still some steelhead being caught in The Dalles and John Day pools. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Including legals released, boat anglers averaged a legal per every 3.4 boats last weekend based on completed trips. Bank angling from the Washington shore was slow. Effort for sturgeon was high last weekend. A total of 430 sturgeon boats were counted during the Saturday March 10 flight. Boats were found from Grays Bay upstream. Over 150 boats were counted in the gorge area and nearly a hundred boats were found around Kalama. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Best fishing was for boat anglers in The Dalles Pool where the average was one legal per every 2.6 rods. In Bonneville Pool, boat and bank anglers each averaged a legal kept per every 12 rods last week. John Day Pool remains slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Including walleye released, John Day Pool was the best with a fish per every 5.7 boat anglers last week. Boat anglers in The Dalles Pool averaged a walleye per very 7 rods. A few bass are being caught and released by boat anglers in John Day Pool. Trout Klineline Pond - Producing rainbows, browns, and steelhead. Last week 150 bank anglers kept 45 rainbows, 16 browns, and 7 steelhead plus released 14 rainbows, 18 browns, and 6 steelhead. Recent trout plants - South Lewis County Pond near Toledo - 3,055 catchable size rainbows; Swofford Pond near Mossyrock - Over 10,000 catchable size rainbows; Silver Lake near Castle Rock - 5,037 catchable size rainbows; Kress Lake near Kalama - 4,000 catchable size rainbows; Battle Ground Lake - 5,600 rainbows about ½ pound each; Klineline Pond - 6,500 brown trout and 2,256 rainbows averaging about ½ pound each; Lacamas Lake near Camas - 13,648 brown and 2,347 rainbow trout averaging about ½ pound each. Smelt Tributary Sport - Fish were present in the Cowlitz up to Castle Rock last weekend. Best dipping was in the Lexington area, just north of Kelso. Limits were possible there in a few dips; other areas it might take 15 minutes or more. There were confirmed reports of smelt in the Grays River up to the mouth of the West Fork and fairly reliable reports of smelt in the lower Lewis River last week. Lots of spawned out and dying fish reported along Woodland and Kalama bars. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for February 26-March 4, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 2,580 cfs today. Lewis River - No report on angling success. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,000 cfs today. Note: Fishing Rule Change Notices should be released this week announcing sport fisheries for spring chinook on Washington Columbia River tributaries from the Cowlitz River upstream to the Klickitat River. Mainstem lower Columbia below the I-5 Bridge - A few spring chinook and steelhead are being caught. Over 140 salmonid boats were counted during yesterday's (Sunday March 4) flight. About 40 percent of the boats were counted from the mouth of Multnomah Channel downstream to Goat Island. Reminder: Beginning next Monday (March 12), the mainstem Columbia from Bonneville Dam downstream will be open to the retention of hatchery (adipose clipped) chinook, hatchery steelhead plus shad. The season is expected to remain open through April 30. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Some steelhead are being caught in The Dalles Pool. Effort was low to non-existent in Bonneville and John Day pools. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Fairly slow for boat anglers in the Vancouver downstream to Kalama area. Even slower for bank anglers from Longview downstream. A total of 178 sturgeon boats were counted from Corbett downstream during yesterday's (March 4) flight. Over a third of the boats were found in the Kalama area. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - In The Dalles Pool, boat anglers averaged almost a legal per rod (kept or released) last week. Boat and bank anglers were catching some fish in Bonneville Pool. John Day Pool remains slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Boat anglers fishing for walleye in John Day Pool averaged better than ½ fish per rod last week. Boat anglers in The Dalles Pool were catching some fish. Bonneville Pool was slow. Effort and catch for bass was light in all three pools. Smelt Mainstem Lower Columbia: Commercial - Another good week on the mainstem Columbia with over 60,000 pounds of smelt landed last week. To date, over 172,000 pounds have been landed, which represents the largest mainstem total since 1985. Cowlitz River: Sport - Smelt finally moved into the Cowlitz last Wednesday. The best dipping on Saturday appeared to be in the vicinity of Rocky Point (between Kelso and Lexington) where dippers were taking their limits in a matter of minutes. Other areas saw an average of about ½ hour per 10 pound limit. Around ½ the catch were mature females. Fish were bright and in generally good condition. Few of the fish were spawned out. Water temperature was 45 degrees F and visibility was around 12". Be alert for a possible Fishing Rule Change to be released this week that may announce additional sport fishing opportunities for smelt on Washington Columbia River tributaries including the Cowlitz. Trout Klineline Pond - 109 bank anglers kept 9 steelhead and 8 rainbows plus released 5 steelhead. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for February 19-25, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 4,220 cfs today. Cowlitz flows expected to drop to 2,500 cfs this week. Kalama River - No report on angling success. 12 hatchery steelhead were recycled downstream to the Modrow Bridge last week. Lewis River - Effort is reported to be low. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,400 cfs today. Lewis River flows are expected to drop to 1,000 cfs this week. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Slow for Washington bank anglers. Through March 11, the mainstem Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream is open to fishing for chinook. Any chinook may be kept. Beginning March 12, the mainstem Columbia from Bonneville Dam downstream will be open. Only adipose clipped chinook may be kept. The sport fishery is scheduled to be open 7 days/week through April 30 or until the 0.8 percent impact levels of listed wild upriver spring chinook is taken. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching hatchery steelhead in each pool. Bank anglers are doing well for the same species in The Dalles Pool. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Slow for bank anglers from Bonneville to Vancouver. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Counting fish released, boat anglers in Bonneville Pool averaged a legal per every 3 rods last week while boat anglers in The Dalles Pool averaged one per every 1.7. Bank anglers in both pools are also catching some legals. John Day Pool continues to be slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Best spot was in John Day Pool where boat anglers averaged a walleye (kept or released) for every 4.7 rods last week. The Dalles Pool was slow for boat anglers although some walleye are being taken from shore. No walleye were observed caught in Bonneville Pool. Effort for bass in all three pools ranges from low to non-existent. Smelt Mainstem Lower Columbia: Commercial - Last Wednesday, one three-minute tow with drag gear at the mouth of the Elochoman River yielded 3,700 pounds of smelt. One ten-minute drift with small mesh gillnet in the same area yielded 1,975 pounds. All total, 50,000 pounds of smelt were landed during last Wednesday's limited commercial fishery. Through Feb. 21, over 111,000 pounds have been taken. Of the smelt sampled, 55% were males and 45% females. One of the males was spent. None of the females had spawned. Sport - Effective Feb. 24 through March 31, the mainstem lower Columbia is open to fishing for smelt 7 days/week, 24 hours/day. Unconfirmed reports of fishers taking their limits before daybreak on Saturday morning. Daytime bank and boat dippers saw little success as smelt moved off shore during the day. Boat dippers reported marking schools of smelt at 30+ feet. On Saturday, there were lots of bird/sea lion activity on the mainstem Columbia from Stella downstream to at least Skamokwa. Highest activity was around County Line Park. Water temperature has ranged from 40-42 degrees F and visibility was 50-65 inches. Cowlitz River - Smelt were still not present in the Cowlitz as of Saturday. Samplers reported light activity on the river. Trout Klineline Pond - 150 bank anglers with 39 rainbows and 3 steelhead kept plus 58 rainbows and 4 steelhead released. Recent "trout" plant Kress Lake near Kalama - 47 surplus hatchery steelhead Battle Ground Lake - 203 surplus hatchery steelhead and 77 cutthroats. The cutthroats averaged about a pound each. Klineline Pond - 241 surplus hatchery steelhead. Lacamas Lake - 1,250 catchable size brown trout. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for February 12-18, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No report on angling success. Flows below Mayfield Dam are expected to be 4,220 cfs today. Lewis River - Angling is slow. 3 bank and 1 boat angler were sampled with no catch last week. Flows below Merwin Dam are expected to be 1,500 cfs today. Lower Columbia below the I-5 Bridge - 1 salmonid bank angler sampled at Frenchman's Bar, 5 below Longview and 2 at Kalama had no catch last week. Look this week for a Fishing Rule Change Notice to announce the lower Columbia mainstem spring chinook fishery regulation changes. John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching a few steelhead. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - 1 bank angler sampled below Longview had no catch last week. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Through January 31, 2001, a total of 202, 38, and 0 legal sized sturgeon have been retained from Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools, respectively. Bonneville Pool effort was up 55% from January 2000. The January 2001 harvest was 3 ½ times the January 2000 harvest but 30% less than the January 1999 harvest. The Dalles Pool harvest in January 2001 was over twice that of January 2000. This year's effort in John Day Pool was more than double January 2000; however, catch in both years was zero. Walleye and Bass John Day Pool - Boat anglers are catching some walleye. No effort for bass was observed there last week. Smelt Mainstem lower Columbia - Nearly 51,000 pounds were landed during the limited commercial fishery last Wednesday (Feb. 14). Most of the catch occurred downstream from Cathlamet. To date, 61,100 pounds have been landed. Almost all the catch has occurred in the past two fishing periods. This year's catch to date is similar to season total landings observed during 1986-1989. Catch per delivery averaged 1,000 pounds on Feb. 7 and 1,800 pounds on Feb. 14. This year's catch per delivery are similar to those observed prior to 1994. Mainstem Columbia water temperature was 39-40 degree F last week. Visibility in Astoria ranged from 64"-69". Of smelt sampled, 47% were males and 53% were females. Over 1/3 of the males were spent. None of the females had spawned. Cowlitz River - No smelt were reported caught during the sport fishery last Saturday (Feb. 17) or the limited commercial fishery last Tuesday/Wednesday. However, sport effort is increasing. Trout Recent catchable size rainbow plants: Lake Sacajawea near Longview - 1,700 fish Kress Lake near Kalama - 2,500 fish WDFW Sport Sampling Results for February 5-11, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No creel checks this past week. Effort is very low. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 4,210 cfs today. Kalama River - No report on angling success. A total of 105 hatchery winter-run steelhead were recycled downstream to the Modrow Bridge area last week. For the season, a total of 322 first-time arrivals were recycled. This will be the final recycle of this year's hatchery winter-run steelhead to the lower river. The remaining fish will be released into Kress Lake near Kalama. A total of 39 steelhead were released there last week. The fish recycled into the lower river and into Kress Lake have been tagged. Kalama Research personnel would appreciate information from any recoveries, either from the river or the lake. In addition, the personnel would like the heads of any non-recycled fish (non-floy tagged) hatchery steelhead. Both the tag recovery information and the fish heads can be turned in at the Kalama Falls Hatchery. Lewis River - No report on angling success. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,500 cfs today. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No report on sport fishing success. During the limited commercial sturgeon target fishery, 23 chinook were landed Feb. 5-6 and another 28 fish on Feb. 8-9, the final days of the winter commercial sturgeon fishery. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Effort and catches of summer-run steelhead were light last week. Reminder: Lower Columbia mainstem sport meeting- A meeting will occur after next Tuesday's (Feb. 20) Compact Hearing. The hearing begins at 10 AM. It will be held at the ODFW Portland Headquarters. Washington Columbia River tributaries from the mouth upstream to the Klickitat River sport meeting - Will be held Thursday Feb. 22 from 7-9 PM at the WDFW Region 5 Vancouver Office. The address is 2108 Grand Blvd. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - The 4 bank anglers sampled just downstream from Bonneville Dam last weekend had no catch. Two boaters sampled at Camas/Washougal also had no catch. Bonneville Pool - Counting legals released, boat anglers averaged about 1/3 legal per rod last week. Bank anglers were also catching a few legal sized fish. The Dalles and John Day Pools - No legal sized fish were found in the creel surveys from either pool last week. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - The few boat anglers sampled in each pool last week had found some success for walleye. Effort and catch for bass was non-existent. Smelt Mainstem lower Columbia - The limited commercial fishery from Jim Crow downstream did very well last Wednesday (Feb. 7). There was reports of one fisher catching 1,500 pounds of smelt within a 5-10 minute drift near Astoria. One boat was monitored near Elliot Point that caught 770 pounds in a 18 minute drift. Catches for last week's fishery may reach 10,400 pounds. Commercial fishers who fished from Cathlamet upstream came up empty handed. On water observations indicated numerous pods of seals/sea lions and flocks of diving birds present downstream from about Pillar Rock downstream to Rice Island, including Grays Bay. Of the smelt sampled for sex composition and spawning condition, 53% were males (2 ripe, 14 green, and 1 spent) and 47% females (3 ripe and 12 green). Water temperature at Tongue Point was 41 degrees F and visibility was 63". Cowlitz River - No smelt were reported landed during the limited commercial fishery on Tuesday (Feb. 6). State conducted test dipping on Friday Feb. 9 caught no fish. No birds or seals were observed on the lower river last week. No report was available from last Saturday's sport fishery. Trout Klineline Pond - Fishing was slow there last week. A total of 64 shore anglers had kept only 3 rainbows. Recent Trout Plants: Battle Ground Lake - 7,504 rainbows at 2.6 fish/lb. and 6,051 eastern brooks at 2.3 and 3.1 fish/lb. Northwestern Reservoir - 3,427 rainbows at 2.6 fish/lb. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for January 29-February 4, 2001 Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - A spot creel check last week at Blue Creek showed 9 bank anglers with no catch. No boats were out. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 4,190 cfs today. Lewis River - No creel sampling report was available today. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,500 cfs today. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No report on sport fishing success. Another spring chinook was caught during the limited commercial fishery targeting sturgeon. Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Overall, effort and catches of steelhead were light last week. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No creel sampling was done last week. For the month of January, an estimated 890 legal-sized sturgeon were caught. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged 0.4 legals per rod last week. A few legals are also being caught off the bank. Best success was from Drano Lake upstream to Hood River. The Dalles Pool - Boat anglers averaged 1/3 legal per rod last week. Best success was from just below John Day Dam. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool upstream to John Day Pool - Some walleye are being caught in the Dalles Pool. Effort increased but catches decreased for walleye in John Day Pool. Smelt Lower Columbia - On the Washington side, there were no reported sizeable smelt catches for the limited commercial fishery last week. One boat was reported to have caught approximately 1 pound last week. On the Oregon side, no boats were monitored. Very limited interest for smelt on the Oregon side. Temperature at the East End Mooring Basin in Astoria was 42 degrees F. Visibility was 71 inches. No birds or seals were observed in the area. However, 4-5 seals were observed from Cathlamet upstream to County Line Park. One seal was even observed just below Bonneville Dam last week. Cowlitz River - A few (very few) smelt are present in the Cowlitz River. A reliable report of 8 pounds were caught by 4 individuals in 4 hours near the Kelso Bridge on January 27. On February 3, four dippers were contacted from Gearhardt to Castle Rock. They had no success after 40-50 passes each. Enforcement checked 17 dippers who had caught a total of 3 fish. Water temperature was 43 degrees F with 36"+ of visibility. Trout No angling report was available for last week. Southwest Washington lakes recently planted with trout: Battleground Lake - 5,000 catchable size rainbows and 160 rainbows averaging 4 pounds each; Klineline Pond - 161 rainbows averaging 4 pounds each; Little Ash Lake near Stevenson - 1,026 catchable size rainbows; Rowland Lake near Lyle - 4,566 catchable size rainbows and 3,000 catchable size eastern brooks; Spearfish Lake near Dallesport - 1,136 catchable size rainbows; Maryhill Pond - 200 catchable size rainbows. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for January 22-28, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Catch and effort for steelhead remains light. Six bank and 9 boat anglers sampled last week had no catch. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 4,220 cfs today. Lewis River - Anglers are catching a few hatchery winter run steelhead and still releasing a few coho. Twenty-four bank anglers kept 1 winter steelhead and released 3 coho. Three boat anglers had no catch. Chinook may be kept beginning Thursday Feb. 1. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 1,600 cfs today. The low flows are expected to continue until early spring when flows are expected to increase slightly for wild juvenile fall chinook emergence and rearing. Bonneville Pool - No effort for salmonids observed last week. The Dalles Pool - Anglers continue to catch hatchery summer-run steelhead. John Day Pool - Boat anglers averaged 2 summer run steelhead per person last week. Most were wild fish that had to be released. Upcoming Spring Chinook Sport Fishery Meetings Mainstem Columbia - A joint state sport meeting has been scheduled to occur immediately following the Compact hearing on February 20, 2001. The Compact hearing is going to begin at 10 AM at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife headquarters in Portland. Washington Columbia River tributaries - A public meeting will be held February 22 to discuss spring chinook returning to Washington Columbia River tributaries from the mouth upstream to the Klickitat. The meeting will be held from 7-9 PM at the Region 5 office in Vancouver, located at 2108 Grand Blvd. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - 1 bank angler just below Bonneville Dam had no catch. Six boat anglers sampled in the Camas/Washougal area had released 3 sublegals. Bonneville Pool - Slower for legal sized fish last week. Strong Coho (east) winds in the west end of the pool most of last week. Very low weekday effort. The Dalles Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Very low effort on weekdays. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Cold weather has kept effort down. Water levels were normal. Walleye and Bass Bonneville Pool - No effort for walleye or bass was observed there last week. The Dalles Pool - Low effort for walleye but bank and boat anglers are catching some fish. No effort for bass was observed there last week. Water temperature was 39 degrees F. John Day Pool - Including fish released, boat anglers averaged ½ walleye per rod last week. No effort for bass was observed there last week. Water temperatures were in the mid to high 30s. Smelt Mainstem Columbia - Last Wednesday (Jan. 24), one boat on the Washington side caught a pound of smelt. On the Oregon side, one boat caught three pounds in two drifts at Jim Crow Sands; another boat was skunked on one drift in the chute (Rice Island and Miller Sands area). Water temperature was 41 degrees F at the East End Mooring Basin in Astoria with over 8 feet of visibility. A few seals were observed from Cathlamet upstream to County Line Park below Longview. Cowlitz River - No report of smelt caught from the Tuesday (Jan. 23) limited commercial fishery. Sport checks were made from Gearhart Gardens upstream to Castle Rock on Saturday January 27. There was no one dipping for smelt, only a few people searching for activity. There were no birds or seals present on the river. Water temperature was 41-42 degrees F with visibility of 36+". Trout Klineline Pond - Producing some trout including brood stock rainbows to 26" and steelhead to 32". Last week, 89 bank anglers kept 29 rainbows (including 5 brood stock), and 4 steelhead plus released 5 rainbows. Recent trout plants: Mayfield Lake - 3,400 rainbows averaging ½ pound each. WDFW Sport Sampling Results for January 15-21, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Creel checks last week showed light angler effort with few fish caught. Shore anglers at the mouth of Blue Creek are still catching a few fish. The actual sampling data was unavailable today. Through January 17, a total of 1,309 adult and 11 jack winter steelhead had returned to the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery. In addition, over 11,600 hatchery sea-run cutthroats had returned. At the salmon hatchery, 644 hatchery and 142 wild winter steelhead had returned though the same date. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 4,240 cfs today. Kalama River - No angling report. Through Jan. 17, a total of 276 hatchery and 45 wild winter steelhead had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. Most of the hatchery fish continue to be recycled downstream from the hatchery. Lewis River - No creel checks last week. No update on winter steelhead returns was possible today. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,700 cfs today. Washougal River - No angling report. Through Jan. 17, a total of 274 winter steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery. Bonneville Pool - No salmonid effort was observed there last week. The Dalles Pool - Boat anglers averaged better than a hatchery summer-run steelhead per rod last week. No bank angling effort was observed. John Day Pool - Boat anglers caught and released a few wild summer run steelhead last week. Bank angling was slow. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - The 17 bank anglers sampled in the Longview-Cathlamet area last weekend had no catch. Bonneville Pool - Boat anglers averaged nearly 0.4 legals kept per rod last week. Best area was between Hood River and Drano Lake. Bank anglers were also catching a few legals in Bonneville Pool. The Dalles Pool - Bank anglers are catching a few legals. Boat angling effort and catch was low last week. John Day Pool - Low effort and catches last week. Walleye and Bass Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Effort and catches were low in all three pools last week. No effort was observed for bass. Smelt Mainstem Columbia commercial fishery - Last Wednesday, 4 pounds of smelt were landed on the Washington side. On the Oregon side, one fisher in the chute (Rice Is. and Miller Sands area) made two drifts at low water and caught one smelt. There no signs of other fishing boats, birds, or seals in the chute area. Water temperature at Tongue Point was 42 degrees F with 97" of visibility at low water. Commercially caught sturgeon from Zones 1,2,3 (Longview downstream to mouth) were sampled and had no smelt in their stomachs. Commercial crab fishers report a school of smelt was seen as far in as Buoy 14 (between the Megler-Astoria Bridge and Buoy 10) at high water. Trout Recent releases of brood stock rainbows averaging over 4 pounds each: Kress Lake near Kalama - 162 fish. Reservoir levels: Riffe Lake - Reported 120 feet below full pool today. Swift Reservoir - Reported 71 feet below full pool last Friday. Yale Reservoir - Reported 40 feet below full pool last Friday. Merwin Reservoir - Reported 9 feet below full pool last Friday. Cowlitz River Commercial fishers on the Cowlitz River came up empty handed last Tuesday. No birds or seals were seen actively feeding on any possible schooling fish in the river. During last Saturday's sport check, no fishers were found at any of the check points. There were also no signs of birds or seals at any of the areas sampled. Water temperature was 43 degrees F and visibility was 36". WDFW Sport Sampling Results for January 8-14, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - Steelhead fishing remains slow although some bank anglers at Blue Creek are catching fish. Overall effort is down. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 5,070 cfs today. Lewis River - Anglers are releasing a few dark steelhead and coho. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,800 cfs today. Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No angling report. However, a spring chinook was caught in the January 8/9 commercial sturgeon fishery. Bonneville Pool - No salmonid effort. The Dalles and John Day pools - Boat anglers at each pool averaged about ½ hatchery steelhead per person. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - The 10 bank anglers sampled last Saturday just below Bonneville Dam had no catch. Eight boat anglers sampled at Camas/Washougal had kept 1 legal and released 5 sublegals. Bonneville Pool - Bank anglers were catching a few legals; boat angling was slow. The Dalles Pool - Boat and bank anglers are catching some legals. John Day Pool - Slow for legal sized fish. Walleye and Bass Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Not a lot of effort for walleye or bass. Boat anglers are catching a few legal sized fish in The Dalles Pool. Smelt Mainstem Columbia - A couple smelt boats were observed last week. No catch was reported landed. Limited interest, lack of a market and lack of smelt were the main reasons for the low effort. Temperature at Tongue Point was 42 degrees and visibility was 63". Reports from ocean bound drag and crab boats is that there are large schools of bait at the mouth of the Columbia. Cowlitz River - There were no reported catches of smelt for the Saturday, January 13 fishery. Field checks were made from Gearhart Gardens near the mouth upstream to Castle Rock. Two fishers checked at Carnival Market had made 50 passes from a boat with no catch. Water temperature was 43 degrees with 24-36" visibility. There were no active birds or seals anywhere on the river. Trout Southwest Washington Lakes planted with spawned brood stock rainbows averaging a little over 4 pounds each: Horseshoe Lake near Woodland - 175 Spearfish Lake near Dallesport - 61 Rowland Lake near Lyle - 39 Kidney Lake near North Bonneville - 47 Little Ash Lake near Stevenson - 18 Northwestern Reservoir (on White Salmon River) - 39 Tunnel Lake (close to Drano Lake) - 18 WDFW Sport Sampling Results for January 1-7, 2001 Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format Salmon/Steelhead Cowlitz River - No creel checks on the Cowlitz River last week. However, steelhead fishing on the Cowlitz River is reported to be very slow. The 2-salt fish are not showing. Flows below Mayfield Dam were expected to be 5,050 cfs today. Lewis River - Last week, 6 bank anglers had kept one winter steelhead; 2 boat anglers had no catch. Flows below Merwin Dam were expected to be 2,800 cfs today. Bonneville and John Day pools - No salmonid effort was found there last week. The Dalles Pool - Producing hatchery steelhead for bank and boat anglers. Sturgeon Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - No creel checks for last week. Below Bonneville Dam, an estimated 200,174 angler trips produced 40,505 legal sized sturgeon kept in 2000. The catch was 505 fish above the catch guideline for 2000. These fish will be subtracted from 40,000 fish guideline for 2001. Even before the 2000 catch guideline was exceeded, it was determined that to stay within the catch guideline for 2001 retention of sturgeon would be prohibited in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam during August 16-September 15. Catch and release angling may continue. The fishery will be monitored in season and if necessary the retention restriction will be 1) extended through September 30; 2) reduced to shorter duration; or 3) eliminated altogether. If the catch guideline is exceeded in 2001, then the 2002 catch guideline will be reduced accordingly. Bonneville Pool - Bank and boat anglers are catching some legal size fish. Water levels fluctuated dramatically last week. The Dalles Pool - Boat anglers averaged about ½ legal per person last week. Bank angling is slow. Water levels were low last week. John Day Pool - Sturgeon angling is slow. Water levels were low last week. Walleye and Bass Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - No effort except for a few walleye anglers in The Dalles Pool. The anglers sampled there last week had no success. Smelt On the Washington side of the Columbia, no smelt were reported landed in the limited mainstem commercial fishery last week. No smelt were reported caught in the limited Cowlitz commercial and sport fisheries either. The Cowlitz will be open to fishing for smelt this Saturday (Jan. 13) from 6 AM to 10 PM. Trout Last week's plants of surplus brood stock rainbows averaging about 7 pounds each: Little Ash Lake near Stevenson - 13 Tunnel Lake - 13 Rowland Lake near Lyle - 20

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