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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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2015 Outdoors: Fishing

Katlynn, 6, holds a sockeye caught by her sister Mckayla, 10, on a family fishing trip with their father, Omak guide Jerrod Gibbons on the Columbia River near Brewster on July 1, 2015. RICH LANDERS richl@spokesman.com (Rich Landers / The Spokesman-Review)
Katlynn, 6, holds a sockeye caught by her sister Mckayla, 10, on a family fishing trip with their father, Omak guide Jerrod Gibbons on the Columbia River near Brewster on July 1, 2015. RICH LANDERS richl@spokesman.com (Rich Landers / The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Rich Landers richl@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508

Fishing was a sport of contrasts in 2015.

Record low river flows and exceedingly warm water temperatures forced the early summer closure of the Columbia River sockeye season as thousands of salmon – and hundreds of sturgeon – perished from the conditions.

Yet a record run of nearly a million fall chinook followed the carnage up the river. Anglers netted a record harvest of fall chinook in the Hanford Reach.

With the spring runoff from record-low snowpacks commencing early, Montana streams provided the best March-to-June fly fishing conditions anyone can remember. However, by July, the state imposed restrictions on fishing to reduce pressure on fish stressed by high water temperatures. Washington followed suit, but Idaho imposed no restrictions.

Badger and Williams lakes, Spokane County lakes that have ranked among the top trout waters in the state, were treated with rotenone to rid the waters of bass and other fish so they could be restocked with trout for the 2016 seasons.