01-08-2009, 12:10 PM
Weekend Fishing Opportunities
* Effective Thursday Jan. 1, 2009 sturgeon retention is allowed three days a week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) from Bonneville Dam downstream to Wauna power lines with a 38-inch minimum and 54-inch maximum fork length restriction in effect. Boat anglers should be cautious when anchoring in high flows and alert for large woody debris in the mainstem Columbia, especially downstream of the Willamette.
* Some winter steelhead should be available from beaches on the lower Columbia for anglers willing to brave the elements.
Columbia River Fish Counts
Regulations
Salmon, Steelhead and Shad:
The salmonid creel program on the lower Columbia has ended for the year and will resume February of 2009.
Gorge Bank & Boat:<br />
No report.
Troutdale Boats:<br />
No report.
Portland to Longview Bank & Boat:<br />
No report.
Estuary Boat (Above Tongue Point):<br />
No report.
John Day Pool (Columbia River above John Day Dam and John Day Arm):<br />
Weekly checking showed two adipose fin-clipped steelhead kept and one unclipped steelhead released for three boats in the John Day Arm.
STURGEON:
The Columbia River Compact met on Thursday December 18 and adopted new sturgeon regulations for 2009. For the news release, please check the link below:
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2008/dec...121808.asp
Sturgeon anglers are reminded that effective Jan. 1, 2009, a new method of measuring sturgeon for retention will take effect statewide. Under the new rules, sturgeon will be measured from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail (rather than the tip of the tail). The resulting allowed retention measurements are slightly shorter than the old method. As a result, the 2009 slot measurement for sturgeon caught in the Columbia River downstream of The Dalles Dam to the Wauna Power lines, including tributaries, will be 38 to 54 inches FORK LENGTH. Upstream of The Dalles Dam to the Oregon/Washington border, the fork length for sturgeon retention will be 43 to 54 inches beginning on Jan. 1. Below the Wauna power lines, the fork length will likely change to 41-54 inches after April 2009, although those rules have not yet been adopted (see emergency rule changes for exact dates as the season approaches for sturgeon fishing below the Wauna power lines). Remember, all of these figures are simple conversions of the old method of measuring sturgeon. It does not mean you can keep smaller fish, only that the method of measuring "keepers" has changed. So, from Jan. 1 on, make sure that your sturgeon is of legal length under this NEW measurement technique.
Effort has been light. Bank anglers in the Bonneville Pool were catching a few sublegal sturgeon last week.
Gorge Bank:<br />
Weekly checking showed no catch for one bank angler.
Gorge Boats:<br />
No report.
Troutdale Boats:<br />
No report.
Portland to Longview Bank:<br />
No report.
Portland to Longview Boats:<br />
No report.
Bonneville Pool Boat and Bank:<br />
Weekly checking showed four sublegal sturgeon released for 13 bank anglers.
The Dalles Pool Boat and Bank:<br />
No report.
John Day Boat and Bank:<br />
No report.
* Effective Thursday Jan. 1, 2009 sturgeon retention is allowed three days a week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) from Bonneville Dam downstream to Wauna power lines with a 38-inch minimum and 54-inch maximum fork length restriction in effect. Boat anglers should be cautious when anchoring in high flows and alert for large woody debris in the mainstem Columbia, especially downstream of the Willamette.
* Some winter steelhead should be available from beaches on the lower Columbia for anglers willing to brave the elements.
Columbia River Fish Counts
Regulations
Salmon, Steelhead and Shad:
The salmonid creel program on the lower Columbia has ended for the year and will resume February of 2009.
Gorge Bank & Boat:<br />
No report.
Troutdale Boats:<br />
No report.
Portland to Longview Bank & Boat:<br />
No report.
Estuary Boat (Above Tongue Point):<br />
No report.
John Day Pool (Columbia River above John Day Dam and John Day Arm):<br />
Weekly checking showed two adipose fin-clipped steelhead kept and one unclipped steelhead released for three boats in the John Day Arm.
STURGEON:
The Columbia River Compact met on Thursday December 18 and adopted new sturgeon regulations for 2009. For the news release, please check the link below:
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2008/dec...121808.asp
Sturgeon anglers are reminded that effective Jan. 1, 2009, a new method of measuring sturgeon for retention will take effect statewide. Under the new rules, sturgeon will be measured from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail (rather than the tip of the tail). The resulting allowed retention measurements are slightly shorter than the old method. As a result, the 2009 slot measurement for sturgeon caught in the Columbia River downstream of The Dalles Dam to the Wauna Power lines, including tributaries, will be 38 to 54 inches FORK LENGTH. Upstream of The Dalles Dam to the Oregon/Washington border, the fork length for sturgeon retention will be 43 to 54 inches beginning on Jan. 1. Below the Wauna power lines, the fork length will likely change to 41-54 inches after April 2009, although those rules have not yet been adopted (see emergency rule changes for exact dates as the season approaches for sturgeon fishing below the Wauna power lines). Remember, all of these figures are simple conversions of the old method of measuring sturgeon. It does not mean you can keep smaller fish, only that the method of measuring "keepers" has changed. So, from Jan. 1 on, make sure that your sturgeon is of legal length under this NEW measurement technique.
Effort has been light. Bank anglers in the Bonneville Pool were catching a few sublegal sturgeon last week.
Gorge Bank:<br />
Weekly checking showed no catch for one bank angler.
Gorge Boats:<br />
No report.
Troutdale Boats:<br />
No report.
Portland to Longview Bank:<br />
No report.
Portland to Longview Boats:<br />
No report.
Bonneville Pool Boat and Bank:<br />
Weekly checking showed four sublegal sturgeon released for 13 bank anglers.
The Dalles Pool Boat and Bank:<br />
No report.
John Day Boat and Bank:<br />
No report.