Highly irritating, river temp finally is starting to get in the right range and the water is dropping and the fish are biting and now we cant fish.

* Lower Columbia River Closes to Spring Chinook Angling Sunday Night
* ODFW Hosts May 7 Town Hall Meeting in Tillamook

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Anne Pressentin Young (503) 872-5264 x5356
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us Fax: (503) 872-5700

For Immediate Release April 25, 2002

Lower Columbia River Closes to Spring Chinook Angling Sunday Night

PORTLAND - Oregon and Washington fishery managers decided today to close the lower Columbia River downstream of Bonneville Dam to chinook, steelhead and shad angling Sunday night due to a smaller than expected salmon run size.
Managers have been monitoring the Columbia River spring chinook return and the ongoing sport catch. The expected adult return was downgraded from the pre-season forecast of 334,000 fish to 238,000 fish. Biologists noted the run is late passing Bonneville Dam. High, murky, and cool water has slowed fish passage.
The mainstem Columbia from Tower Island in Bonneville Pool upstream to McNary Dam remains open for adipose fin-clipped spring chinook, adipose fin-clipped steelhead, and shad. This fishery and several others slated to occur in eastern Washington will be reviewed by managers on Tuesday, April 30.
Salmon and steelhead fishing remains open in the Columbia River tributaries according to rules established in the 2002 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations pamphlet. Willamette River conditions are excellent and catch rates are good, according to Steve King, salmon fisheries manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The non-Indian mainstem Columbia River fisheries are managed to limit unintended mortalities associated with the release of wild spring chinook to 1.7 percent of the total return. The wild fish are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Managers estimate the allowed impact will be near the 1.7 percent limit by the end of the fishing day Sunday, April 28.
Sport anglers in the lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam through April 28 will have caught about 24,400 spring chinook, of which 14,300 were hatchery fish and retained and 10,100 were unmarked and released. Hatchery fish are identified by a missing adipose fin.
Angling in the Columbia for adipose fin-clipped hatchery steelhead, adipose fin-clipped jack chinook, and sockeye opens May 16 below the Interstate 5 Bridge and June 16 above the Interstate 5 Bridge. Angling for shad re-opens May 16, and angling for fall chinook and adipose fin-clipped coho opens Aug. 1.

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Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Rick Klumph (503) 842-2741 or Kathy Shinn (503) 657-2000 x285
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us

For Immediate Release April 25, 2002

ODFW Hosts May 7 Town Hall Meeting in Tillamook

TILLAMOOK - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will host a town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 7 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds to collect public input on the agency's proposed 2003-2005 budget.
The proposed budget developed by the agency and an external budget advisory committee calls for carrying the same level of staffing and programs currently in place. To provide this service, however, ODFW must make up an estimated $8 million funding shortfall. Three license and fee increase options that generate from $3.5 million to $8.2 million are being proposed.
At town hall meetings around the state, agency staff will present the proposed budget and gather public comments that will be used to help refine the budget before presenting it to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (Commission) in June. The Tillamook meeting was added to the list of statewide meetings announced April 5th. Written comments on the proposed budget are welcome within two weeks following the public meeting and should be sent to ODFW, Director's Office, PO Box 59, Portland OR 97207.
Public comments will also be heard at the Commission meeting on Friday, June 7 in Portland. A budget approved by the Commission will be submitted to the Governor for consideration by the 2003 Legislature.

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