View Full Version : What's up with the Bonneville Regs??
tailchaser
06-05-2003, 07:30 AM
I'm headed to the fishery this weekend and noticed the regs on the river have changed a little. No fishing basically above the fishery for oversize?? Where exactly is the line? I typically start at the shad rack and head downriver a bit to the flats above the fishery, but I'm not sure if that's legal right now. Anyhow, we're headed up this weekend but wondered if anyone that knew the area better than me could describe the deadline for me and why they did this. I'm not too up to date on the local changes and explinations.
tc
cosmo
06-05-2003, 08:27 AM
Draw a line for yourself from Beacon Rock on the Washington side, across the river to Oregon. No sturgeon fishing upriver of that line. Okay to get your shad above, but come back below Beacon Rock to fish sturgeon.
sinker
06-05-2003, 09:08 AM
hhhhmmmm, usually it's no boats above Beacon Rock at a cerain time of the year.
Kind of hard to enforce "no sturgeon, but you can fish for shad"
Are you going to be pulling your boat up with a new pick up?
Fish'n'Chips
06-05-2003, 07:40 PM
So are WA and OR regs different on this subject because I just checked WDFW web site and they say sturgeon fishing is OK (catch and release) from wanuna power lines to bonniville dam they say nothing about some imaginary line from beacon rock to the oregon side? :shrug:
Nanook
06-05-2003, 08:04 PM
Don't fish above the deadline at Beacon. Way too dangerous anyway.
Steelie Steve
06-05-2003, 08:11 PM
Just checked the Regs for both Oregon and Washington. Total agreement between both states on this issue.
Oregon:
"Angling for sturgeon from a floating device is prohibited from Beacon Rock upstream to Bonneville Dam May 1 - July 15."
Washington:
"Closed to fishing from a floating device for STURGEON from Beacon Rock to Bonneville Dam May 1 - July 15."
Seems pretty clear on this one.
Steve :cheers:
tailchaser
06-05-2003, 10:04 PM
I wasn't foggy really on the regulations, but was more curious to why it was that way. I guess I've never seen that regulation there before until this year. I guess it was just me.
Looks like my trip might get bugered anyhow, everyone that was once going has bailed on me and I'm trying to find some people now but it's not looking good. Oh well, how is the oversize fishing in July?? I've typically only been there from Memorial to early June and haven't traveled up there a little later in the summer.
tc
dunkman
06-06-2003, 11:52 AM
They close it at Beacon Rock every year in order to protect the spawning Sturgeon from stress. We all know how many we can catch up at the dam right now. Just catching them can stress them enough to make them skip a spawn cycle which I think is every 3to4 years. I read that if you have them hooked more than 1/2 hour you should cut them loose to prevent stressing them. With conditions at bonneville the way they are it's not often you catch one in 1/2 hour.