Cowlitz River
- 21 bank anglers on the lower Cowlitz had no catch while 3 boat
anglers kept 3 adult coho.
Last week, Tacoma
Power recovered 1,558 coho salmon adults, 32 coho jacks, eight fall
chinook adults, 32 summer-run steelhead, 50 winter-run steelhead and
ten cutthroat trout at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator during
seven days of operations.
During the week
Tacoma Power employees released 237 coho adults into Lake Scanewa at
the Day Use Site, 130 coho adults into the Cispus River above the mouth
of Yellow Jacket Creek, 390 coho adults into the upper Cowlitz River
at the Skate Creek Bridge in Packwood, Washington, and 215 coho adults,
one jack, seven fall chinook adults, one winter-run steelhead and one
cutthroat trout into the Tilton River at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton,
Washington.
Sea-run cutthroat
returns to the Cowlitz hatcheries are down from the same time last year
(1,367 in 2007 vs 5,817 in 2006).
River flows at Mayfield
Dam are approximately at 10,000 cubic feet per second on Monday, December
3. Water visibility is 11 feet.
Lewis River -
12 bank anglers at the salmon hatchery kept 1 adult coho and released
6 others. On Monday December 3, river flows at Merwin Dam were 11,600
cfs.
Hatchery winter
run steelhead updates - Though still early, hatchery returns to
SW facilities are a mixed bag (some up, some down) compared to the same
time in 2006.
Through November:
| Facility
|
2007 |
2006 |
| Elochoman
|
17 |
37 |
| Cowlitz |
42 |
389 |
| Kalama |
9
|
14
|
| Lewis |
398 |
58
|
| Washougal |
48 |
39 |
Late Stock Hatchery
Coho updates - For the most part, both adult and jack returns are
down from the same time last year. Through November:
Adults
Facility |
2007 |
2006
|
| Elochoman |
762
|
102 |
| Cowlitz |
28,177 |
43,016
|
| Kalama |
1,556 |
4,770
|
| Lewis |
7,543 |
9,944
|
| Washougal |
4,054 |
4,610 |
Jacks
Facility
|
2007 |
2006
|
| Elochoman |
0
|
3
|
| Cowlitz |
3,724 |
4,612 |
| Kalama |
70
|
180 |
| Lewis |
608 |
2,536 |
| Washougal |
50 |
10 |
Some 2007 Columbia
River forecasts and actual returns by species/stock are listed below.
2008 Run Forecasts by species/stock will be released next week. The
2008 Fall Chinook General Outlook will be made Wednesday December 5.
Upriver Spring
Chinook
The 2007 preseason
forecast was 78,500 fish. The final run size is estimated to be 86,000
fish (110% of forecast). Jack counts totaled 20,239 which is the highest
since 2000 (24,400 jacks).
Willamette River
Spring Chinook
The preseason forecast
for Willamette spring Chinook was 52,000 fish, with an estimated 10%
of the run being wild. The final run is estimated to be 76% of forecast,
at 39,500 fish. The wild component was much larger (9,700 fish) than
the preseason estimate of 5,200 fish. Jack counts were poor for the
second consecutive year.
Upper Columbia
Summer Chinook
The 2007 preseason
forecast to the Columbia River mouth was 45,600 fish and was adjusted
in-season to 40,000 fish. The preliminary final run size is estimated
to be 37,000 fish. The 2007 10,100 jack count greatly exceeds the 10-
year average count of 4,100 jacks.
Columbia River
Sockeye
The preseason forecast
for sockeye was 27,600 fish and was updated in-season to ~ 25,000 fish.
The final in-season run size estimate by the Technical Advisory Committee
was 24,400 sockeye at the river mouth.
Wild Winter Steelhead
The preseason forecast
for wild winter steelhead was 16,200 fish. The actual run size will
be determined in December. The data suggests the final run size will
be similar to preseason estimates.
