04-09-2011, 11:10 AM
SALEM, Oregon-Lower Columbia River salmon fishermen will get another chance for a Columbia River spring chinook when the season for marked hatchery fish reopens beginning Friday (April 8) through April 15.
The initial season, which opened March 1 and closed April 4, was marred with poor river and weather conditions that made fishing tough. As of Monday, approximately 3,820 upriver chinook remained on the catch quota of 7,750.<br />
"Given the available fish remaining on the harvest guideline, we believe at least an additional eight days are available to give fishermen a chance to catch the upriver chinook quota," said Chris Kern, ODFW's assistant Columbia River fisheries manager.<br />
"It's unfortunate that the poor conditions have put a damper on the catch so far, but hopefully, conditions will improve. We'll continue to monitor the fishery and intend to review catches again next week to see if there are additional opportunities for more fishing time."<br />
As of April 4, sport fishermen had logged 82,300 angler trips on the lower Columbia River. From March 1 to April 4, fisherman caught approximately 49 percent of what managers had expected to be caught.<br />
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Contact:<br />
Chris Kern (971) 673-6031<br />
Jessica Sall (503) 947-6023
The initial season, which opened March 1 and closed April 4, was marred with poor river and weather conditions that made fishing tough. As of Monday, approximately 3,820 upriver chinook remained on the catch quota of 7,750.<br />
"Given the available fish remaining on the harvest guideline, we believe at least an additional eight days are available to give fishermen a chance to catch the upriver chinook quota," said Chris Kern, ODFW's assistant Columbia River fisheries manager.<br />
"It's unfortunate that the poor conditions have put a damper on the catch so far, but hopefully, conditions will improve. We'll continue to monitor the fishery and intend to review catches again next week to see if there are additional opportunities for more fishing time."<br />
As of April 4, sport fishermen had logged 82,300 angler trips on the lower Columbia River. From March 1 to April 4, fisherman caught approximately 49 percent of what managers had expected to be caught.<br />
###<br />
Contact:<br />
Chris Kern (971) 673-6031<br />
Jessica Sall (503) 947-6023