Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Anne Pressentin Young (503) 872-5264 x5356
Internet:
www.dfw.state.or.us Fax: (503) 872-5700
For Immediate Release June 25, 2002
Lower Columbia River Opens to Summer Chinook Angling Friday
Opening is the First Since 1973
PORTLAND - Celebrating a fish run that has rebounded from the brink of extinction, Oregon and Washington fishery managers decided Tuesday to open a fishing season on hatchery-bred summer chinook starting Friday in the lower Columbia River.
The decision marks the first time since 1973 that anglers may target summer chinook, known historically as "June hogs" for their size.
Biologists estimate that as many as 140,000 summer chinook will enter the Columbia River, which is the largest return since 1959 and nearly double the pre-season prediction of 77,700. Much of the return is hatchery fish surplus to broodstock needs. About 60 percent of the run are marked as hatchery-bred by a missing adipose fin.
"These fish have been extremely depressed for 30 years, but a combination of factors allowed them to rebound beyond expectations," said Steve King, salmon manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Factors include good water years when the fish migrated to the ocean as juveniles and a productive ocean for salmon survival, King said.
Sport fishing industry leaders said they were thrilled with the news.
"With summer chinook, there's a magic about it," said Buzz Ramsey, of Luhr Jensen and Sons, a manufacturer of fishing lures based in Hood River. "Summer chinook average larger than springers and that's going to spark some interest in anglers."
The temporary rule adopted this week allows anglers to retain adipose fin-clipped hatchery summer chinook Friday, June 28, through Wednesday, July 31, in the Columbia River from the Tongue Point/Rocky Point line near Astoria upstream to Bonneville Dam. Both adult and jack summer chinook may be kept under the normal bag limit of two adult salmon or steelhead and five jack salmon per day. On Aug. 1, the regulations revert to permanent rules for fall chinook and coho listed in the 2002 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations.
Fisheries management agencies plan to have a strong enforcement and monitoring presence on the Columbia River during the recreational fishery to ensure regulations on adult hatchery chinook retention are followed.
Fishery managers also decided Tuesday to close an ongoing season on sockeye in the Columbia River effective Friday, June 28, because the run size is smaller than desired. Forecasters expect only 40,000 sockeye to enter the Columbia compared to a target of 75,000 fish. Anglers occasionally harvest sockeye when fishing for steelhead.
Hatchery-bred summer chinook passing above Bonneville Dam are primarily heading to McCall Hatchery on the South Fork Salmon River in Idaho and Eastbank Hatchery on the Columbia in central Washington. Wild Snake River summer chinook are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. The fishery will be managed to limit impacts to 1.0 percent of the wild run.
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ODFW release
Fish Hunter
Thanks Jen for passing it along. Got some relatives visiting from Nebraska in July, hope to send them home with a hog!
Proud Member of the Coastal Conservation Assn, Columbia County Chapter 
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