For the first time in recent history, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will open the upper Snake River for fall chinook harvest on September 1.
The chinook fishery will open to sport fishing seven days a week, running with the annual Hell’s Canyon steelhead fishery. The river will be open from the Oregon / Washington border to the deadline below Hells Canyon Dam and will remain open until Oct. 31, or until a closure is announced.
The daily bag limit is two adipose fin-clipped fall chinook salmon per day, only one of which can be an adult salmon longer than 24 inches. Regulations call for only using barbless hooks when fishing; be sure to consult the 2010 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for other applicable regulations.
Fishery managers predict over 60,000 fall chinook salmon will pass Lower Granite Dam this year. This is more fish than needed for hatchery production needs and thus will be available for sport harvest.
Hells Canyon Dam is the farthest Snake River fall chinook will travel in Oregon, having migrated over 800 miles and passing 8 mainstem dams.
“We’ve had a great spring chinook season, a huge steelhead return is on its way and now there’s a new opportunity to retain fall chinook, ”said Jeff Yanke, ODFW district fish biologist in Enterprise. “We encourage anglers to take advantage of the excellent fall fishing in Hell’s Canyon.”
So get ready for some fine fall fishing, and be sure to get out there.
