Angler paid almost $70,000 for fishing the Columbia and Snake rivers this year

A summer spent fishing brought in nearly $70,000 for one angler who turned in the northern pikeminnow they caught in the Columbia or Snake rivers.

The top earner in the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program from May through September this year was rewarded with $69,230. And the person who earned the second highest amount collected $63,700.

The top earner caught and turned in almost 7,000 pikeminnow that were at least 9 inches long.

The totals for 2022 were higher than 2021 after the reward program raised the bounties they paid per fish turned in.

Previously payments started at $5 per fish, but this year the program paid $6 each for the first 25 pikeminnow; $8 each for 26 to 200 pikeminnows; and $10 for each after 200 for the entire year.

In addition, specially tagged pikeminnow were worth $200 to $500.

Last year, the top earner made $61,000 but turned in about 300 more pikeminnows.

Nearly 1,200 people registered for the program in 2022 and turned in 140,121 of the salmon-eating predaters from the Snake and Columbia rivers. In total they earned nearly $1.4 million.

Northern pikeminnow are significant predators, consuming millions of young salmon and steelhead each year.

Since 1991, anglers paid through the program have removed about 5.4 million pikeminnow from the Columbia and Snake rivers.

The program has reduced predation on young salmon and steelhead by up to 40 percent since it began removing 10% to 20% of the estimated northern pikeminnow population.

The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife collaboratively manage the program.

For more information about the program call 800-858-9015 or visit www.pikeminnow.org.

This story was originally published December 19, 2022 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Angler paid almost $70,000 for fishing the Columbia and Snake rivers this year."