Summer steelhead fishing downstream of the Interstate 5 Bridge in the Columbia River will not open on Friday, as scheduled.Non-Indians have overharvested their share of upper Columbia-Snake spring chinook salmon under federal Endangered Species Act guidelines and tribal catch-sharing agreements, so the steelhead fishery will stay closed to avoid incidental catch of salmon.
The river will open for steelhead no later than June 16.
Shad fishing downstream of Bonneville Dam does open on Friday, although shad counts through Tuesday are very small.
Spring chinook fishing in the tributaries remains a struggle.
Boaters at Wind River averaged a fish per 11.5 rods last week. No spring chinook have returned to Carson National Fish Hatchery yet.
Trollers did better at Drano Lake, with a chinook per 4.7 rods. More than 800 spring salmon entered the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery trap on Sunday night.
On the Cowlitz, only 64 spring chinook were back to the salmon hatchery through May 7. No spring chinook and only one summer steelhead had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery through May 7.
Fishing improved when flows dropped in the in the Lewis, but have slowed since. At Merwin Dam, there were 345 spring chinook back through May 7.
Sturgeon fishing season in the estuary opened Saturday to blustery conditions. More than 60 boats were counted.
Spearfish Lake near Dallesport was stocked with 1,700 trout last week. Mayfield Lake got almost 6,000 trout and Lake Sacajawea in Longview received 1,900.
Catches in the first week of the pikeminnow reward program were best at Bingen, with a 3.7 average. Other local stations include 1.4 at Portland, 2.7 at Troutdale, 0.5 at Washougal,. 3.1 at Cascade Locks, 3.4 at The Dalles and 2.0 at John Day Dam.
Angler checks and related information from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW):
Lower Columbia — Estuary, 44 boats with six legal sturgeon kept and 49 sublegals released. (ODFW)
Knappton and Chinook, four bank rods with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Knappton and Deep River boat ramps, nine boaters with one legal sturgeon kept plus two released. (WDFW)
Longview, one bank rod with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Longview to Portland, 38 boats with four legal sturgeon kept and 56 sublegals released. (ODFW)
Kalama, seven boaters with two legal sturgeon kept and 12 sublegals released. (WDFW)
Woodland, five boaters with no sturgeon. (WDFW)
Vancouver, two boaters with five sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Davis Bar to Portland airport, three boaters with two sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Camas-Washougal, two boaters with nine sublegal sturgeon released. (WDFW)
Columbia Gorge (downstream of Marker 85), three boats with two legal sturgeon kept and 31 sublegals released. (ODFW)
Mid-Columbia — Bonneville pool, 37 bank rods with 15 sublegal sturgeon released; 26 boaters with one legal sturgeon kept, one legal sturgeon released, two oversize sturgeon released and 40 sublegal sturgeon released; 17 bank rods with one spring chinook; four boaters with no salmon or steelhead; two boaters with no walleye; four bank rods with one bass kept and six released; 13 boaters with 40 bass released. (WDFW)
The Dalles pool, three boaters with one legal and 20 sublegal sturgeon released; 183 bank rods with 58 spring chinook kept and 11 released; 63 boaters with 12 spring chinook kept and 10 released; four boaters with five walleye. (WDFW)
John Day pool, 26 bank rods with one spring chinook kept and three released; 26 boaters with one spring chinook kept and three released. (WDFW)
Cowlitz — Sixty-eight bank rods with one spring chinook and one steelhead kept; 13 boaters with two spring chinook and a steelhead kept plus one spring chinook released. (WDFW)
Kalama — Thirty-eight bank rods with one steelhead kept; 86 boaters with eight adult spring chinook and four steelhead kept plus two spring chinook released. (WDFW)
Lewis — Thirteen bank rods with no salmon or steelhead; 49 boaters with two spring chinook and three steelhead. (WDFW)
North Fork Lewis — Ninety-three bank rods with 13 spring chinook and one steelhead kept plus one chinook released; 60 boaters with nine adult and one jack spring chinook kept. (WDFW)
Wind — At the mouth, 126 boaters with 11 spring chinook kept; 19 bank rods with no chinook. (WDFW)
Drano Lake — Thirteen bank rods with no spring chinook; 273 boaters with 58 adult and three jack chinook kept plus two adult spring chinook released. (WDFW)
Klickitat — Ten bank rods with no spring chinook. (WDFW)