Fishing Advices - Fishing Advice and News: No ! spring chinook season

No ! spring chinook season
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Abby Haight, The Oregonian on 11 February, 2009 08:32:00
 
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife predicts fewer than 400 wild spring
chinook will return to the Warm Springs River to spawn, following three years of
declining returns. The predicted run must be at least 1,000 wild fish before the
state will open a sport season on hatchery fish.
"When the wild populations are this low, we can't afford any incidental harvest
from anglers targeting hatchery fish," said Rod French, district biologist for
Oregon Fish and Wildlife.
Fishing below the Deschutes' Sherars Falls is especially popular because high
catch rates offer a good opportunity to catch a Columbia River spring chinook
from the banks.
State officials say they will propose a fall chinook season beginning in
August. Unlike the spring run, the Deschutes River fall wild chinook population
is one of the healthiest in the Columbia Basin and is expected to exceed
management goals.
-- Abby Haight; abbyhaight@news.oregonian.com