Likely no fishing for lower Columbia spring chinook in 2009

It's not official yet, but very likely there will be no spring chinook salmon fishing in 2009 in the Columbia River downstream of the Willamette, or in the Willamette River itself.

Curt Melcher, deputy director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Columbia River Working Group Monday that the spring chinook forecast for the Willamette is expected to be too low to allow any fishing.

Dan Edge, an Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission member from Corvallis, reiterated Melcher's comment.

In 2008, the return of Willamette-origin spring chinook to the mouth of the Coumbia River numbered just 27,457, according to Steve Williams, a fish division assistant administrator for ODFW.

That resulted in a count over Willamette Falls of just 14,672 and a lower Willlamette sport catch of about 4,300 chinook, Williams said.

The average Willamette spring chinook run since 2000 is 79,800, with a high of 144,400 in 2004.

"With the small number of age-4 adults and the second lowest jack count on record (in 2008), we expect 2009 to be very poor,'' Melcher said. "I'll be surprised if it is larger than this year's actual return.''

The pre-season forecast for 2008 was 34,000 Willamette spring chinook.

Melcher said while the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission makes the final decision, it is "highly unlikely'' there will be fishing in the Willamette, or downstream of the Willamette mouth at Kelley Point in the Columbia.

In a repeat of 2008, a strong spring chinook return is expected to enter the Columbia destined for waters upstream of Bonneville Dam. While the official forecast will not be ready until mid-December, the upper Columbia run could number 275,000 or more spring salmon.

In 2008, most of the spring chinook fishing in the lower Columbia River was upstream of the west Hayden Island power lines, which are slightly downstream of the BNSF railroad bridge between Washington and Oregon.

Washington and Oregon officials did permit 12 days of fishing between March 24 and April 4, a token season to allow communities like Woodland, St. Helens, Rainier, Longview and Cathlamet to have at least a bit of close-to-home angling.

During those 12 days, there were 29,294 angling trips with a kept catch of 2,817 spring chinook and 457 released downstream of Hayden Island.

A huge, and very successful, boat fishery for spring chinook developed literally in the shadow of the Interstate 5 Bridge in 2008.

Axel Swanson, a Cowlitz County commissioner, asked if the location of the lower Columbia spring salmon fishery could vary from year to year, having one year above the Willamette mouth and the next downstream.

Edge said not to expect a season downstream of the Willamette mouth in 2009.

"We don't have the forecast, but it's highly unlikely we'll have a lower (Columbia) river fishery, or even a Willamette River fishery,'' he said.

Did you know?

In 2008, the final numbers for the main spring salmon season (through the April 20 closure) between the ocean and Bonneville Dam were 98,429 angler trips with a kept catch of 20,349 chinook and 3,174 released.