Southwest Washington Fishing Reports
2002 Report Archive
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WDFW Sport Sampling Results for July 1-7, 2002
Sport Sampling Summaries - PDF Format

Salmon/Steelhead

• Cowlitz River - Boat anglers from Mission Bar upstream to the barrier dam continue to catch a steelhead per rod. Flows below Mayfield Dam have decreased since last week. On July 5, flows had dropped to 5,000 cfs. Today, flows were 7,460 cfs.
• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Bank and boat anglers averaged a steelhead kept or released per every 6 plus rods last week based on incomplete and completed trips, respectively. Most of the steelhead catch is occurring from Kalama downstream.
• Summer chinook are also scattered among the catches. The Washington and Oregon department's of fish and wildlife are planning to meet tomorrow (Tuesday July 9) to discuss possible opportunities upstream from Bonneville Dam.
• Salmonid effort remains high on the lower Columbia. During last Saturday's (July 6) flight, 450 boats and 559 bank anglers on the Washington side plus 386 bank anglers on the Oregon side were counted downstream from Bonneville Dam. Most of the boat effort was in the Camas - I 205 area.
• At Bonneville Dam, flows have decreased. Yesterday (July 7), flows averaged 250,000 cfs. Visibility was 4 feet. Through July 7, almost 40,000 steelhead had been counted at Bonneville Dam, nearly twice the recent 10-year average.
• Bonneville Pool - Some steelhead are being caught.
• The Dalles and John Day pools - Effort and catches are light.
  

Sturgeon

• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Creel checks from the ports of Chinook and Ilwaco are currently unavailable.
• Deep River - boat anglers averaged a legal per every 3 rods last week. Some legals are being caught by bank anglers near Bonneville Dam and in the estuary.
• Sturgeon effort continues to be high. Last Saturday (July 6), 779 private and 27 charter boats plus over a hundred bank anglers on both the Washington and Oregon shores were counted from Bonneville Dam downstream. The majority of the effort (659 private and all 27 charter boats plus 202 bank anglers) were counted in the estuary.
• Bonneville Pool - Producing some legals for bank and boat anglers. Last week, boat anglers averaged a legal per every 6 rods while bank anglers averaged one per every 9.3 rods. Effort was twice the recent 6-week average.
• The Dalles Pool - Producing some legals for bank and boat anglers. Beginning July 13, all sturgeon must be released through the end of the year.
• John Day Pool - Boat anglers are finding some legal sized fish.
• Ports of Chinook and Illwaco - Last week, 90% of the charter boat anglers and 40% of the private boat anglers from the ports of Chinook and Ilwaco caught their one sturgeon daily limits. The 659 private boats counted in the estuary during last Saturday's (July 6) flight was a record count. Look for a Fishing Rule Change Notice tomorrow to announce the mainstem Columbia from Bonneville Dam upstream to the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco opening to hatchery summer chinook beginning as early as this Thursday (July 11). The daily limit will be 6 fish no more than 2 adults. Only adipose fin clipped chinook may be retained. The fishery would run through July 31. From June 28 through July 8, an estimated 20,500 salmonid angler trips on the mainstem Columbia below Bonneville produced 900 adult chinook kept and 470 released.
  

Walleye, Bass and other warmwater fish

• Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools - Boat anglers are catching some walleye in all three pools. Bass are being caught by bank and boat anglers in the three pools.
  

Trout

• Mayfield Lake - Anglers continue to catch rainbows. During one day of sampling last week, boat anglers averaged nearly 4 fish per rod.
• Riffe Lake - Continues to produce a mixture of landlocked coho, steelhead, and cutthroat. Bank anglers averaged a fish per rod during one day of sampling last week. The reservoir is reported 2.2 feet below full pool today.

Shad

• Lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam - Effort and catch continues to wane. About 30 shad anglers were counted along the bank just below Bonneville Dam during last Saturday's flight. Last week, bank anglers there averaged 2 shad per rod. Low effort and no catch was observed in the Camas/Washougal area