STEVE---Here is the answer you requested on the location of the state line in the Columbia River above McNary Dam. The ODFW and Oregon Sate Police agree the state line is in the middle of the river near the north end of the Powerhouse. You must follow Washington law when fishing on the Washington side of the river and Oregon law on our side. You may not fish at night in Oregon waters. Night fishing is legal in Washington waters. Your Oregon license is valid on both sides of the river when angling from a boat. You may land lawfully-taken fish taken on the Washington side at the Oregon ramp. Good luck fishing. STEVE KING
Steve King works for ODFW. Middle of the river is a lot better than the Umatilla County Sheriff's saying it was the Nav lock!

Thanks F N F!

Well, unless things have changed in the last few years this fellow is FOS..... Washington and Oregon battled for years over the boundary in the Columbia. It went to court and was deemed that the Columbia was "neutral" in it's boundary. This was because the actual boundary in some places actually went very near shore in some spots and was too hard to determine to effectively patrol. Both sides agreed (in the late 70's I believe) that as long as you were not in a backwater impoundment such as a slough or river mouth, then you were in "neutral" water.
This is why I can have a Washington license, yet still fish at the mouth of the Umatilla in Oregon. Not up IN the mouth, but definetley on the Oregon side of the river. Have been checked many times by ODFW with a washington license and could not be ticketed.

Let me know if this has changed, which I doubt, or the courts will be jammed again with people being ticketed for taking a fish on the Oregon side or vice-versa. Hell, how can one tell in that big river exactly where "middle" is.... Too open to interpretation, etc....

Regards!

MC

MasterCaster,

You are correct (and pardon me for saying so, but so was I). What you're saying does not disagree with what FNF said.

I think the key here is whether you're fishing from a boat or from shore. As long as you're in a boat, you can fish the whole river with a license from either state. The "whole river" of course doesn't include tribs, sloughs or other non-mainstem areas. And where you launch is irrelevant.

OK, I'm off to the wet side for the weekend. When I get back, I want a full report of all fish caught around the Tri-Cities.

Dan