This year’s Fall Chinook season started out with a bang! The first day of the season through the last day in Astoria Oregon was lights out fishing! Fishing got a little tougher on the bigger tides, but we always found them and got our fish!
The original run forcast set by the Washington department of fish and wildlife was slightly below the ten year average. Now, numbers are showing that they were wrong. We already have 15-18 thousand fish crossing over Bonneville dam as of the 1st of September, which usually doesn’t happen until around the 12th!
This years season was set to go through the 6th of September, Fri Sat and Sun only, but we are all fairly confident that the when the run update happens It will reopen through the end of the year! The Chinook season plans to reopen regardless on the 23rd of Sept. This is very exciting news to NW anglers as it stays good on the Columbia River through mid October.
In the meantime, there are plenty of opportunities to catch Chinook Salmon on the tributaries of the Columbia as we wait for the reopening on the 23rd of September or sooner. On Oct 1st the salmon limit goes to 2 adult Chinook. Hatchery or wild may be retained on some of the tributaries of the Columbia that we fish!
We have a very exciting Fall Chinook and Coho season ahead of us and it’s far from over. It’s not too late to get out and do some catching, so book your seats asap for the best dates. See you on the water!
