Northwest Fishing Magazine May 2025 Volume 4 Issue 7 - Flipbook - Page 22
The 2025 forecast for
Columbia upriver spring
Chinook is 122,250 fish,
more than the 116,332 that
returned in 2024, but lower
than the 10-year average of
139,676 fish.
Several factors influence
the arrival of spring
Chinook, including flow
patterns, which can
change on a daily basis.
These fish are known to
work their way up the
maze of channels and will
follow bottom structure
in the river. They will avoid
turbulent water and are
known to stall below dams
when abrupt changes
occur at the tailrace and
fish ladder channels.
The initial spring Chinook
fishing seasons for the
Columbia River mainstem
were set in late February,
with end dates in mid/
early April for below
Bonneville Dam and late
April upstream. It is usually
soon after that when the
run begins to ramp up. In
recent years, the timing of
the run has been later and
later.
As of mid-April, the spring
Chinook fishing success
was just starting to build
in the lower river. The
number of fish seen at
the Bonneville Dam fish
ladder was also sporadic.
Anglers can track daily
fish counts by going to
Columbia River adult
salmon counts at https://
www.fpc.org/currentdaily/
HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_
Adults.htm, which is key
to knowing when to go
fishing.
It’s also wise to not wait
to go fishing once the run
begins to peak, as you’ll
likely miss out on the best
time period. “For 2025, the
corresponding harvest
rate tiers are determined
by the Snake River wild
abundance estimate.
Following that, we apply
a 30% buffer applied to
the forecast until we get
a run size update, this is
then used to determine
the harvest rate,” said Ryan
