Angler earns $83,877 catching pikeminnows
Wed., Dec. 13, 2017
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.
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