Summer chinook fishery will run through July 31 on lower Columbia

OLYMPIA - Starting July 11, anglers fishing the lower Columbia River can catch and keep summer chinook - along with sockeye salmon - through the end of the month.

Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon agreed to extend the season for hatchery-reared summer chinook salmon after upgrading their projection of the run size to 74,000 fish, up from 67,500.

The fishery for summer chinook below Bonneville Dam closed July 7 after a four-day extension.

Under the state’s latest action, anglers fishing the lower Columbia River can retain up to two adult salmon or hatchery steelhead, or one of each, a day through July 31.

Anglers may retain sockeye and hatchery summer chinook salmon as part of their daily limit. All other salmon species must be released unharmed.

For more information, check the fishing rule change at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/.