Quick Cast:
 Area Reports
 Find-a-Guide
 Forums
 Tides

Departments:
 Articles
 Books
 Clubs & Orgs.
 Fishing Reports
 Feedback
 Forums
 Fly Fishing
 Guides & Charters
 Links
 Photo Gallery
 Reef Locator
 Regulations
 Software
 Survey
 Tournaments
 Travel
 Weather
 Home

Administration:
 About Us
 Advertising
 Contact
 Privacy
 Terms of Use
 Web Development

Cowlitz River opens Sunday for chinook salmon fishing

Capt. Jerry Brown
September 16, 2008
Cowlitz River - Freshwater Fishing Report

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Starting Sunday (Sept. 14), anglers fishing the lower Cowlitz River may keep one adult chinook salmon as part of their daily catch limit.

The area open to chinook retention extends from the boundary markers at the mouth of the river upstream to 400 feet below Mayfield Dam.

With more chinook returning to the Cowlitz River Hatchery than expected, state fishery managers now believe they can open a chinook fishery and still collect enough fish to meet hatchery-production goals.

"This year's outlook has improved for Cowlitz River chinook," said Pat Frazier, regional fish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). "We've been telling anglers we'd open the fishery if the count at the hatchery supported it, and it does."

Based on early returns and historic run patterns, the department now expects to meet its goal of getting 2,600 adult chinook salmon back to the hatchery, he said.

Starting Sunday, anglers fishing the Cowlitz River may catch and keep one adult salmon as part of their six-salmon daily limit, which may also include hatchery-reared chinook jacks and adult hatchery coho.

Adult chinook with or without a clipped adipose fin may be retained, but chinook jacks with an intact adipose fin must be released. Effective Oct. 1, adult chinook must be released from Blue Creek to Mill Creek.

Frazier noted that anglers fishing the lower Cowlitz River may also retain up to six hatchery-reared adult steelhead per day through Oct. 22, after which the limit returns to two fish per day.

"This is a good time to go fishing on the Cowlitz River," Frazier said. "Salmon are moving into the river from the mainstem Columbia and the daily catch limits are favorable. We're happy to be in a position to give anglers this opportunity."

Target Species:

Chinook

More Fishing Reports:

 

We specialize in guided sportfishing trips in the Pacific Northwest for Salmon, Steelhead and Sturgeon along the Columbia river and its tributaries. Give us a shot at filling your fishing dreams.

Contact Info:

Columbia River Fishing
3930 A ST SE #305
BOX 95
Auburn, WA 98002
Phone: 206-920-2428
Alt. Phone: 253-887-8529
Email the Captain
Visit his Web Site
Display Find-a-Guide Listing


Copyright © 1997-2024, CyberAngler - All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use
For Questions and comments please use our Feedback Form
Back to the Top