It’s not too late to catch that Chinook salmon you’ve had your eye on.
The spring Chinook fishing season is open on the Columbia River and will stay open a bit longer than planned due to low catch rates and higher than expected returns.
A 10-week-long Chinook season will open on the Hood River from April 15 through June 30.
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However, there will be no Chinook season this spring in the lower Deschutes River due to low returns.
Here are more details from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:
THE DALLES, Ore.—ODFW has set the following regulations for a spring Chinook fishery on the Hood River:
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- Open for adult hatchery Chinook from April 15 through June 30 from the tips of jetties at the mouth to mainstem confluence with the East Fork, and the West Fork from the confluence with the mainstem upstream to the angling deadline 200 feet downstream of Punchbowl Falls.
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- The catch limit is one adult hatchery salmon per day, and five hatchery jack salmon per day.
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- All wild Chinook salmon must be released unharmed.
Fishery managers are predicting a good return of about 1,240 adult hatchery fish for the Hood River, which is similar to last year’s actual return.
There will be no season for spring Chinook on the Deschutes River for 2023 due to another year of predicted poor returns of wild fish.
According to Jason Seals, ODFW fish biologist, the Hood River fishery is one of the few places a bank angler has a good chance of catching a Columbia River spring Chinook. Seals said the run usually peaks in late May due to colder water temperatures in the Hood River.
For the latest regulations for the Central Fishing Zone visit https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/central-zone and click the Regulation Updates tab.
