Sturgeon, smelt fishing regulations adopted
Current rules regulating the harvest of white sturgeon on the Columbia River were left unchanged from 2009 while representatives from the two states negotiate an agreement on 2010 harvest objectives.
The new agreement is expected to reduce harvest guidelines due to reduced abundance of legal and sub-legal fish. Following adoption of the 2010 objectives, managers plan to revisit sturgeon regulations at their next joint state hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 18.
Until the states modify the sturgeon rules, retention of sturgeon with a fork length of 38-54 inches is allowed three days per week — Thursday, Friday and Saturday — on the Columbia from Bonneville Dam downstream 105 miles to the Wauna power lines.
These rules also apply on the Willamette River and Multnomah Channel. Below Wauna, retention of 38-54 inch fork length sturgeon is allowed seven days per week beginning Jan. 1. Above Bonneville, retention is allowed seven days per week beginning Jan. 1. Sport fishermen may retain one legal-sized sturgeon per day and up to five sturgeon for the year.
In response to continued low smelt returns, fishery managers lowered the daily bag on the Columbia River to 10 pounds, down from 25 pounds previously.
At their next meeting, fishery managers from the two states also plan to set spring Chinook salmon seasons, in light of the largest forecast for the upriver spring Chinook since 1938.
what the sport fisherman should do is stop buying tags for one season to bankrupt the people running odf and find a new board who can manage our money and our fish and wildlife because you people are doing a not so good job maybe you should look at the commercial fishing and charterboats more than the sportfishing there is no room for commercial fishery any more thats why we have fish farms give them one single pole and the same tag i have to buy and see if the can fill their tag
prices on tag keep going up and less fish you need to figure it out thats why we pay you