10 minute read
MID-COLUMBIA SALMON ‘HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION’
FISHING
Not only are Columbia fall Chinook and coho forecasts up, but the fish are arriving now in the eastern Gorge and Hanford Reach.
By Mark Yuasa
Inquiries about the Columbia River’s late summer and early fall fisheries have been filling my inbox, and there’s no doubt the excitement is fixed on the robust fall Chinook and coho predictions.
Quinten Daugherty, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, summed up the rosy outlook: “I expect to see some pretty good in-river fishing based on the forecasts. A forecast of about 576,200 fall Chinook in 2021 equates to a decent return, and then you’ll have coho to help fill in the gaps.”
Decent fishing reports earlier this month from Buoy 10 at the Columbia River’s mouth and in the ocean off Ilwaco appear to be backing up what was seen in the crystal ball of computer-generated data.
This data revealed that the 2021 adult fall Chinook forecast is 100 percent of the 2020 actual return of 574,800 (379,769 in 2019), and 80 percent of the 2011 to 2020 average return of 724,210.
The bulk of the entire 2021 forecast is made up of 361,500 adult upriver bright fall Chinook – in 2020, 227,600 was forecast with an actual return of 299,031 – and represents 63 percent
Fall Chinook returns up the Columbia continue to rebound after bottoming out in 2018. The Hanford Reach, where Tegan Yuasa caught this one while fishing with guide Austin Moser, will be one of the best locations to catch some this season. (MARK YUASA)
of the projected total return and is 85 percent of the 2011 to 2020 average of 424,860. These are the drivers for the Hanford Reach fishery.
The lower river hatchery forecast of 73,800 adult fall Chinook is slightly lower than the 2020 actual return, and below the 2011 to 2020 average of 85,600. The lower river wild fall Chinook forecast of 20,400 adults is 106 percent of the 2011 to 2020 average of 19,210.
The icing on the cake is a forecast of 1,343,200 adult coho to the river’s mouth, which includes 872,700 early stock and 470,500 late stock coho. That is up a whopping 434 percent compared to the average of 309,600 coho from 2011 to 2020.
The Bonneville Dam passage is expected to be 537,500 adult coho, which represents 81 percent of the forecasted total ocean abundance of Columbia River coho destined for areas further upstream.
State fishery officials monitoring the ocean coho catches in early summer felt some hesitancy that the bonkers preseason forecast wasn’t going to pan out, but lights-out catches by early August around the CR Buoy in the ocean off Astoria and Ilwaco brought a sigh of relief.
Many agree that even if the coho run to the river’s mouth lands in the range of 800,000 – which some WDFW fishery managers believe will happen – you’ve still got a massive expected total combined return of 1,376,200 fall Chinook and coho.
Fishery officials take a conservative approach to managing fall salmon, and will provide an inseason update by mid-September (typically about 50 percent of fall Chinook have passed Bonneville by September 9).
“We’ll get an updated adult upriver bright run size and have additional fishing opportunity planned to access the 15 percent harvest rate if the inseason run is at least 200,000,” Daugherty said.
SOLITUDE WILL BE hard to find when chasing fall Chinook and coho on the mainstem Columbia from Buoy 10 to
Columbia Fall Kings, Reality V. Expectations
All Fall Chinook Stocks
Year Actual Return Forecast 2010 655,800 664,900 2011 620,600 765,300 2012 525,100 584,700 2013 1,268,300 678,600 2014 1,159,100 1,460,200 2015 1,305,400 925,300 2016 642,200 960,200 2017 476,400 613,700 2018 293,500 375,600 2019 375,700 349,700 2020 574,748 420,300 2021 TBD 576,200
Upriver Bright Component
2010 324,900 319,200 2011 322,100 399,600 2012 297,800 295,800 2013 778,300 434,600 2014 684,200 919,000 2015 795,700 518,300 2016 412,900 579,700 2017 297,400 275,200 2018 149,000 205,100 2019 212,200 159,300 2020 299,031 227,600 2021 TBD 361,500
Tactics vary depending on location, depth and dam releases, but back-trolling deep slots with large Spin-NGlos and egg clusters or running Super Baits or wrapped Kwikfish are go-tos in the Hanford Reach. (MARK YUASA)
Most of the fall focus on the MidColumbia is on upriver brights, but there should be good numbers of coho around this year as well. Austin Han caught this one near Tri-Cities last October. Unclipped coho can be retained on the mainstem above the Hood River
Bonneville, where thousands of boats have already been bobbing about this past month.
By early September it’ll be time to head to the Gorge and Pasco for those same fish before getting a “last chance” from mid-September to midOctober in the Hanford Reach area.
Aaron Peterson, owner of Peterson’s Northwest Guide Service (petersonsnorthwest.com), indicates he’s still coming off a great period of guiding on the Upper Columbia for summer kings and will now focus time between the Gorge and Hanford Reach.
One factor that anglers should keep close tabs on is the water temperature in the mainstem Columbia. In early August the river was hovering around 71 degrees at Bonneville, just under the dreaded “red zone” of 2015 but slightly above the historical average from 1976 to 2020.
During these warmer periods, oftentimes the best fishing occurs near tributaries and confluences of rivers where cooler water feeds out into the Columbia mainstem.
Beginning in the late 1990s, anglers began targeting fall Chinook in deeper water areas of the river with excellent results, especially in and around the shipping lanes.
The recreational catch of adult fall Chinook on the mainstem increased over time from an average of 2,300 fish during the 1980s to 5,000 fish in the 1990s to 14,700 in the 2000s and to 23,600 during the 2010s.
Angler trips also jumped from an average of about 41,000 trips in the 1980s to 54,200 in the 1990s to 94,400 in the 2000s and to 118,400 during the 2010s.
“Folks have become more effective in catching fall salmon with gear like the Pro-Troll flashers, and we’ve seen the (catch per unit effort) increase
because of it,” Daugherty said. “We’ve also seen a big bump in effort with Covid, since many are seeking things to do outside like fishing.”
The 2021 fall salmon expectations set by WDFW are 80,000 angler trips with 27,000 Chinook and 90,000 coho at Buoy 10; 50,000 with 11,000 and 6,000 from Rocky Point to the Lewis River mouth; 70,000 with 19,000 and 3,000 from the Lewis to Bonneville; and 25,000 with 8,000 and 3,000 from Bonneville to the Oregon-Washington state line just upstream of McNary Dam.
While the average number of angler trips by decade surged since the 1990s, Chinook harvest increased disproportionately from an average of 6,700 in the 1990s to 10,000 in the 2000s to 19,100 during the 2010s.
Whatever location you plan to fish this month on the Columbia, the sheer thought of catching a large-size salmon will leave you with bragging rights for a long time.
DON’T STOW AWAY the gear once the Buoy 10 fishery winds down because September is prime time for intercepting fall Chinook and coho in the Gorge up to Hanford Reach.
In this section of the Columbia covering roughly 150 miles, anglers will notice a change from lush green forests of the Gorge to the high bluffs and arid sagebrush in the Hanford Reach.
In the Gorge, places like Drano Lake, the mouths of Klickitat and White Salmon Rivers on the Washington side and the Deschutes River mouth on the Oregon side offer decent fishing.
Trolling is an effective tactic in the Gorge, so use an 8- to 10-ounce sliding cannonball sinker to a chain swivel attached to a Pro-Troll ProFlash, and a 4- to 6-foot leader to a prawn spinner, Yakima Bait SpinFish or a Brad’s Wiggler.
Further upstream, the Hanford Reach is home to the largest salmon run on the West Coast, with some Chinook exceeding 40-plus pounds.
There are two rough gravel boat launches above the Highway 24/ Vernita Bridge, which this time of year turns into a small fishing town filled with motorhomes, campers and vehicles with boats and trailers.
The reason behind these strong runs to the Reach is natural production in the last major freeflowing section of the Columbia and at the Priest Rapids and Ringold Springs Hatcheries, which release about 10 million fall Chinook.
“The Hanford Reach kings are much larger than most others in the Columbia,” said guide Austin Moser, owner of Austin’s Northwest Adventures (austinsnorthwestadventures.com). “We’ve seen some larger returns the
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past couple of years, and I’ve seen a jump in interest by clients wanting to fish this area.”
Back-troll in deepwater slots with a size 1 or 2 Spin-N-Glo and a gob of cured salmon eggs the size of a golf ball; a colorful Brad’s Super Bait; or a K-14, K-15 or K-16 Kwikfish wrapped with a sardine strip and smeared in scent jelly.
When using a Spin-N-Glo/egg cluster presentation, be sure to attach a size 50 Jumbo Jet diver to get it near the bottom. Sharp 3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu octopus or Big River hooks are a must to make sure the fish sticks.
Many like the bottom hook to be a red Gamakatsu size 2 treble hook trailing off the egg cluster. There are times when anglers will also flat line a Kwikfish behind the boat.
Water speed and currents through the Hanford Reach dictate what type of gear to use in the roughly 20 fishing holes located along the 20mile stretch of river.
If you’re unfamiliar with Hanford Reach, purchase a topo map to see where the deep pockets of 50 to 60 feet are located or watch others around you closely. To track the optimum time to fish the area, monitor the fish counts at McNary Dam, located a mile east of Umatilla, Oregon.
In 2020, an estimated 14,651 adult fall Chinook, 1,395 jack fall Chinook and 136 coho were caught in the Hanford Reach from 39,000 angler trips. About 257 adult Chinook and 46 jack Chinook were released. The 2020 Chinook harvest was 85 percent of the recent 10-year average.
The fall salmon fishery here is open daily through October 15. The daily limit is six, but only two may be adult Chinook and coho. A two-pole endorsement is allowed for any species except sturgeon. Be sure to check wdfw.wa.gov for any emergency closures or openings.
“The Hanford Reach is a great place to end the fall fishing year on, and one of my favorite times of the season to go fishing,” Moser said. NS
OREGON
PORTLAND
Sportcraft Marina
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WASHINGTON
EVERETT
Performance Marine
(425) 258-9292 perform-marine.com
MOUNT VERNON
Master Marine Boat Center, Inc.
(360) 336-2176 mastermarine.com
OLYMPIA
Puget Marina
(360) 491-7388 pugetmarina.com
SHELTON
Verle’s Sports Center
(877) 426-0933 verles.com
SPOKANE VALLEY
Spokane Valley Marine
(509) 926-9513 spokanevalleymarine.com
