Anglers earn cash for their catch

Once again, it’s time to fish for fame, and especially for fortune.

The 2005 Pikeminnow Reward Season opened Monday on the Columbia River from John Day Dam to the mouth while the program starts upstream from John Day and up the Snake River to Lewiston on May 16.

During the season, which is scheduled to end Sept. 25, registered anglers can earn $4-$8 a fish for pikeminnows longer than 9 inches that are caught and turned in to reward stations.

The Bonneville Power Administration funds the reward program to thin out the native predators, which have been given an unnatural advantage for eating endangered salmon and steelhead smolts as they try to migrate downstream through the reservoirs created by dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers.

Last year’s record catch of nearly 261,000 pikeminnows resulted in more than $1.7 million paid to about 2,000 anglers, BPA officials said. The top 20 anglers caught nearly 57,000 pikeminnows to earn $428,368.

Ten anglers earned more than $18,000 each while 1,255 anglers came away with 10 or fewer fish each.

A number of the pikeminnows were specially tagged to bring higher rewards. Last year, anglers caught 132 fish bearing $500 tags, and another 34 fish with tags worth $100 each.