SALMON FISHING  – Fishing for spring chinook salmon will close on the last two sections of the Snake River at an hour past sunset Today (May 22).

By then, the catch of Snake River spring chinook salmon is expected to reach harvest guidelines based on the most recent estimate of the run size, according to fishery managers at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“The majority of the fish were taken in the lower Snake River, but the catch guidelines apply to the river as a whole,” said Cindy LeFleur, WDFW Columbia River policy coordinator. “For that reason, we had to close the upriver fisheries sooner than expected.”

The two sections of the river set to close Tuesday are:

• Below Lower Granite Dam – From the Casey Creek Canyon Road on the Garfield County shore (approximately six miles downstream of Lower Granite Dam) to the fishing restriction boundary downstream of Lower Granite Dam.
• The Clarkston area – From the intersection of the Steptoe Canyon Road with Wawawai Road on the north shore upriver about 12 miles to the Idaho state line.

The state line runs from the east levee of the Greenbelt boat launch in Clarkston northwest across the Snake River to the boundary marker on the Whitman County shore.

Two other areas of the Snake River below Ice Harbor Dam and Little Goose Dam closed for spring chinook fishing May 18.

“Unless there is a major change in the run forecast, this closure will likely mark the end of the season for spring chinook fishing on the Snake River,” LeFleur said.