Chum on the Columbia???

Uglygreen · 10-27-2002, 10:02 AM

Were fishing oversize and salmon on friday below Bonneville dam. Hooked and landed a big buck CHUM salmon (in full spawning colors) right below the dam.... Never herd of Chum being in the Columbia system or Columbia tributaries... Wonder where it was headed, any guesses?

UG

(The appx. 20 lb. fish hit a blue and silver K-15 with a chartruse butt and a quickfish wrap.)

[ 10-27-2002, 11:03 AM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

10-27-2002, 01:36 PM

The IGFA 12 pound world record is only 22lb 8oz

David Johnson · 10-27-2002, 05:10 PM

There are a few that spawn in the Columbia and in some of the tribs on the Washington side, I beleive one of those creeks is the one by Beacon Rock.

Wernergonefishin · 10-27-2002, 06:56 PM

I caught and released a chum on the the north fk of the toutle river about a month ago also seen two caught at the barrier dam on the cowlitz. Also last year while fishing out of Ilwaco seen a boat with a chum in was very bright like a silver except for light purple haze and laterial lines.

KingFisher85 · 10-27-2002, 07:05 PM

I was looking at the fish counts over the dam and for the past week 0 chums have passed over. Must have gotten the only chum down there.

STGRule · 10-27-2002, 07:10 PM

They haven't passed the dam yet that I know of. They are spawning in the shallow, fast water just below the dam and around the islands.

STGRule · 10-27-2002, 11:05 PM

Shhhh. Big secret. The USACE doesn't want anybody to know that there is a population of chum that spawn at Bonneville Dam. It screws up their need to pass water through the generators instead of spilling. But yes, they are there and spawning. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Mojo · 10-28-2002, 07:44 AM

Check out the FPC site. They have a neat section on the Lower Cloumbia Chum Salmon.

http://www.fpc.org/ives_island.htm

rob allen · 10-28-2002, 12:43 PM

Do not target these fish!!! They are the best chance for the restoration of wild chum salmon in the lower columbia. let them spawn and do not fish for them or near them with gear likely to catch them.

foxer · 10-28-2002, 01:13 PM

Mojo, can you re-post that link? It does'nt work. I have a whole bunch of green mag warts that I wanna try (just kidding Rob) I would like to check out that page though...

Mojo · 10-28-2002, 02:23 PM

These fish are ESA listed. It is illegal to mess with them, I believe. The site is....

http://www.fpc.org

Look under Ives Island on the menue bar on the left. (Funny thing...my link works for me!)

Uglygreen · 10-28-2002, 06:30 PM

Wow! thanks (as usual) for all the great information Ifishers!

UG

10-28-2002, 06:50 PM

Rob Allen,
Once again we agree on something.

Now tell me how 76 degree water is good for salmon.

GutshotApe · 10-28-2002, 07:02 PM

I think these fish - several thousand wild chum spawning below Bonneville - are a relatively recent phenonemon. Wasn't there an issue a year or two ago over spilling water to keep the chum redds covered at the expense of other salmon runs? :whazzup:

STGRule · 10-28-2002, 07:36 PM

GSA: We found chum yearling behind Hayden Island in '86 or '87 (can't remember the exact year) so I'm guessing they have been there the whole time. USACE were asked to keep the water level up to keep the redds watered and that water came from the spill alotment for all salmonids. I think that was the problem. They just need to spill enough for all the salmon species. I'm guessing that they were just barely hanging on with the redd de-watering and that now that they are getting the water there are more of them surviving.

ssteelheadsteve · 10-28-2002, 10:11 PM

The Clack and Sandy had Huge Chum runs at one Time.

Mojo · 10-29-2002, 08:52 AM

Chums have been spawning in the lower Columbia forever. These fish didn't just appear. The runs have been so depleted for so long, that they just "ran in under the radar screen".

GutshotApe · 10-29-2002, 09:46 AM

Mojo - Well, yeah, chum have been in the Columbia for thousands of years and there are still remnant runs in the estuary area. I caught one 30 yrs ago in a lower river tidewater tributary while fishing for cutthroats. The relatively large number of dog salmon spawning below Bonneville are "new" in the sense that there were few known to be there until recently. There were many, many more chum salmon in the Columbia 100 years ago and since they spend little time in freshwater, it seems their decline must have been due to oceanic conditions and/or over harvest? :whazzup:

10-29-2002, 05:10 PM