Salmon fishing on the upper Columbia is winding down and Buoy 10 fishing is closed for kings now. Everyone is turning their attention to the fall fishing on the Hanford Reach. Here’s an update: Fall chinook returns to the Columbia River are running 24% above the ten-year average. Cumulative adult fall chinook count through the Bonneville Dam fish ladders is 189,630 (Aug 1-Sept 4) compared to the ten-year average of 152,234. 30,020 adult fall chinook have been counted at McNary for the same time period, 6% below the ten-year average (30,020 v 31,821). Fishing was slow this past week but is picking up throughout the Hanford Reach. WDFW staff interviewed anglers from 155 boats (311 anglers) with 40 adult chinook, 4 jacks, and 1 coho harvested. Based on sampling, an estimated 140 adult chinook, 14 chinook jacks, and 4 coho were harvested from 1,089 angler trips. For the first three weeks of the fishery there have been 2,843 angler trips with 672 adult chinook, 49 chinook jacks, and 4 coho harvested. In addition, 17 sockeye, 14 adult chinook, 7 chinook jacks, and 47 steelhead were caught and released. Boats averaged one salmon per 3.5 boats, 34 hours per fish.
My brother Rick Graybill holds up a bright king taken below Priest Rapids Dam a few years ago.