OLYMPIA – Sport fishing for spring chinook salmon will be allowed on a section of the Icicle River in Chelan County from May 26 through July 31, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

The area opening to fishing begins 500 feet downstream of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery rack and stops 500 feet short of the confluence of the Icicle and Wenatchee rivers. The daily catch limit is two salmon, measuring at least 12 inches. Night closure and non-buoyant lure restrictions will be in effect during the fishery.

A recent in-season assessment by WDFW of spring chinook salmon now moving up the Columbia River indicates that about 3,000 hatchery-reared fish will enter the Icicle River, said Ami Wickenhagen, a fish biologist for the department.

About 2,000 of those fish will be available for harvest, since only about 1,000 are needed for broodstock at the hatchery.