Salmon/Steelhead
Cowlitz River - Some spring chinook are being caught on the lower river. Through April 29, a total of 524 hatchery adult spring chinook had returned to the salmon hatchery, matching one of the strongest starts in the past;20 years. In addition, the first arrival of new summer run steelhead have returned.
Anglers should note the south side of the river from Mill Creek to the Barrier Dam is closed to all fishing through mid June per permanent regulations.
Flows below Mayfield Dam on Monday May 4 are just over 5,100 cfs. Water visibility is over five feet. Flows are expected to drop to almost half in the next week.
Kalama River - From Chris Wagemann, WDFW Fish Biologist, on April 28; Adult fish trapping operations ceased for about a 1 1/2 months form January through mid February due to flood damage. This might help explain a poor early hatchery winter-run return of 220 fish to Kalama Falls Hatchery (KFH). These numbers are about 20% below the past eight-year average (1,097).
On the brighter side the late hatchery winter returns have been favorable with 868 having returned to KFH; this compares to the past eight-year average of only 358 fish. The increased return can be attributed to a better smolt plant and migratory survival.
Wild winter returns peaked this past week and to date, 640 fish have been passed upstream of KFH. This is about 50% of the past year average (1,113); It's expected another 200 wild winter fish will be passed upstream by the end of May.
Three wild and three hatchery;summer steelhead were passed upstream of KFH last week. These are the first returns of the 2009 run year. The first spring salmon were handled at KFH last week included one adult and one jack.
Overall the winter steelhead fishing was above average on the Kalama River for the month of March and the beginning of April. Steelhead fishing has slowed with many winter fish getting ready to spawn. However a few early hatchery summer steelhead are getting caught along with the occasional spring chinook. The adult salmon daily limit remains one fish until further notice.
Lewis River - Effort and catch is relatively light although a few more spring chinook were caught near the salmon hatchery late last week. Through April 29, just 16 hatchery adult spring chinook had been collected at the trap; however 8 new summer run steelhead had been trapped the previous week. The adult salmon daily limit remains one fish until further notice.
