Columbia chinook season reopens

Chinook salmon fishing reopens today on the Columbia River between Bonneville Dam and the Highway 395 bridge at Pasco under a new rule approved Friday by fishery managers in Washington and Oregon.

The chinook season was closed in that stretch of the Columbia three weeks ago because of concerns that not enough of the wild component of that run was going to reach spawning areas.

“Anglers fishing above Bonneville Dam didn’t get much of a chance to take home chinook salmon earlier in the season,” said Bill Tweit, Columbia River policy leader for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “The additional fish we’re seeing now will allow us to provide some additional fishing time in that area, without exceeding conservation guidelines or compromising the commercial fishery in the lower river.”