Anglers Still Have Chance For Big Salmon On Columbia Large Hatchery And Wild Runs Expected In September, October

Despite the doom and gloom over the demise of the region’s wild salmon runs, the party isn’t completely over for sport anglers.

Hatchery returns in several areas plus the Columbia River’s last great run of wild chinooks are poised to put monster fillets in fishermen’s coolers this month.

The largest run of wild chinooks in eight years is headed for the Hanford Reach of the Columbia below Priest Rapids Dam, biologists say.

The kings are called “upriver brights” because of the relatively good quality they maintain after migrating hundreds of miles upstream in fresh water.

The fishing generally peaks in late September and early October. Catch rates tend to stay high through much of October, but the kings get darker and the meat quality deteriorates.

The forecast this year is for 153,400 upriver brights to enter the Columbia River, the best since 260,000 headed upstream in 1989.

“The brights don’t hang around long enough to get caught in the lower Columbia,” said Joe Hymer, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologist. “Once they hit the river, they’re on the move.”

Many of Washington’s traditional summer salmon fisheries are drying up this week.

Westport reaches its quota of salmon over the Labor Day weekend and the season closed Thursday. Sekiu and Port Angeles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca are expected to reach their quotas this week, but catch-and-release fishing will be allowed until Sept. 15.

But the best is yet to come many other fisheries. Here’s a general guide to where the salmon action will be.

Columbia River

Bouy 10 at the Columbia mouth, was picking up last week and could peak this week or next. Anglers are keying on chinook returning to lower Columbia hatcheries, but cohos will provide more of the action as the month progresses. Although cohos cannot be kept in neighboring areas, they can be kept at Buoy 10.

Drano Lake, a backwater on the Columbia at the mouth of the Little White Salmon River, should peak in early September for chinook salmon.

Mouth of the Deschutes River, primarily a boat fishery, peaks in mid-September.

John Day Dam, downstream from the powerhouse on the Washington side, is a prime spot for plunkers to take chinooks that stack up and mill around before running up the fish ladder. The fishing tends to peak in mid-September when the passage of chinooks over the dam goes above 3,000 fish a day.

Check the fish counts in the newspaper sports section Tuesday through Saturday.

Hanford Reach of the Columbia, from the Ringold area upstream to Priest Rapids Dam, peaks in late September and early October.

Washington Coast

Willapa Bay in Grays Harbor was quiet in late August, making biologists nervous that the expected run of 64,000 kings and 72,000 coho might not materialize.

“On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if the fishery simply is late,” said Doug Millward, state ocean fisheries biologist.

“Normally, late August is prime time, but Canada’s Fraser River sockeye run was a week or two late this year, the same could be true at Willapa.”

The run was forecast to be strong with 5-year-old kings - the 25-30 pounders. Should the run develop, good fishing could last through September.

Buoy 13, a sleeper of a fishery in Grays Harbor, can periodically be hot in September for chinooks. Any coho caught must be released.

Chehalis River, primarily an estuary fishery, and Humptulips River could be good for chinooks in mid-September.

Hoh, Quillayute and Queets rivers could be good for chinooks in late September and early October.

Puget Sound

Everett and Seattle areas should have good fishing in September for a whopping 674,000 hatchery coho expected to return to hatcheries in the south sound.

Finding salmon shouldn’t be a problem. The trick is keeping your bait away from the dogfish long enough to hook a coho.

Oregon Coast

Tillamook Bay, the staging area for salmon heading into five rivers, is one of the West Coast’s hottest fisheries in late September and October. Lots of big kings; lots of anglers, too. This year, biologists predict a higher than average percentage of 5-year-old behemoths. Most salmon spawn after three or four years at sea.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo