05-19-2011, 01:58 PM
[url "http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110519/SPORTS/705199959/1004"]http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110519/SPORTS/705199959/1004[/url]
Springers
The Columbia River spring chinook run wasn't a bust after all, and salmon managers reopened the recreational season on the lower river Sunday, through June 15, after updating the run from 198,000 fish to a possible 237,000. Cold and very high, dirty, water conditions apparently kept the bulk of the run penned in the river's bottom end until recently and also held the sport catch to a minimum.
The extended season probably will be too late for many anglers, who must schedule vacation days to participate, and fishing conditions haven't improved all that much.
"It's still tough fishing," said Lake Stevens resident Tom Nelson, host of "The Outdoor Line" on ESPN Radio 710 Saturday mornings. "There's still so much water coming down you can't use the downriver trolling technique, which is the most effective, so you have to anchor and plunk in the slots instead."
Nelson said another problem is the unusually large amount of grass and other junk coming downriver, which forces anglers to continually pull and clean their gear.
"I think (state Department of Fish and Wildlife) knew we weren't going to catch 1,500 fish a week under these conditions," Nelson said.
Despite all that, results for the Sunday reopener and the fishery early this week were surprisingly good, particularly for the very large number of jacks in the bag. Checks included 305 anglers (including 56 boats) with 27 adult and 65 jack spring chinook, and four steelhead.
The springers are obviously moving now, and the daily limit at Drano Lake, above Bonneville dam, has been increased to four hatchery adults through July 31. State biologist Paul Hoffarth in the Tri-Cities said bank anglers at Ringold are fighting high river flows and finding slow fishing, and there are apparently not enough springers in the Yakima as yet to provide decent action. Hoffarth checked just two salmon anglers on the Yakima last week with zip.