Angler earns $83,877 catching pikeminnows

One dedicated angler earned $83,877 over the last five months catching pikeminnows.

Pikeminnows prey on young salmon and steelhead. That’s why the Bonneville Power Administration started the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program offering between $5 and $8 for each northern pikeminnow caught from the Columbia and Snake rivers.

The top angler in 2017 caught 10,000 such fish. The top 20 anglers earned on average $30,000. And while high seeming, those numbers are down from last year. In 2016, the top angler earned $119,341 and the top angler in 2015 earned more than $100,000.

The season opens May 1 and runs through Sept. 30. Pikeminnows can be caught for a reward in the Clarkston, Washington area and at Boyer Park on the Snake River near Pullman.