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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Anglers set all-time record steelhead harvest on lower Columbia

Steelhead counts over Lower Granite Dam posted on Aug. 24, 2011. (Fish Passage Center)
Steelhead counts over Lower Granite Dam posted on Aug. 24, 2011. (Fish Passage Center)

FISHING -- The estimated 9,800 hatchery summer steelhead kept on the lower Columbia River so far this month -- through Aug. 22 -- is an all time record not just for August but for any month since at least 1969, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department has just reported. 

The previous record of 8,549 steelhead was set last month. 

A good run along with river flows that are higher and cooler than normal appear to be favoring the anglers.

MEANTIME, about 30,000 steelhead have run up the Snake River and climbed over Lower Granite Dam. They're coming at the rate of about a thousand a day.  Anglers are enjoying good catches of steelhead in Idaho's Clearwater River.

And, as the graph above shows, the big numbers are yet to come.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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