Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Fall Run of Chinook Salmon

On September 9th of this year there were 68,000 Fall Run Chinook Salmon that passed through Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. This was the most recorded since 44,000 Fall Run passed through in 1942 in one day.

Recently runs have been re-established on the Umatilla River which passes through Pendleton. The runs were wiped out early in the 20th century when irrigation dams blocked the lower river. Restoration work was begun some years back, through co-operation with the tribes, the Bonneville power adm. and the game commission. Healthy runs of Steelhead and Salmon have been restored on the Umatilla.

Glad to see it.

That's very good news! Thanks for sharing.

I love good news, especially on the salmon front. Hopefully both our countries can keep making progress on restoring our respective runs of salmon. Huge runs of pinks this year in BC which help provide the ecosystem health required for other salmon species. Sockeye on the Nass River this year has been a bit of a disaster. Coho runs seem to be pretty high this year all over our coast.

Dam removal should be a huge positive for salmon runs.

http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/08/29/removing-dams-and-restoring-rivers/

I doubt that they will remove the dams on the Columbia anytime soon. Electric ratepayers in the northwest have funded the largest ESA program ever (over $13 billion to date) and it seems to be helping a lot (although good ocean conditions seems to help the most). Elwa (while important) is a small dam compared to those on the Columbia/Snake system.

I'm a rafter (obviously) and I like rapids. But I also like to be able to light my house at night and have refrigerated storage of food.

Some of the smaller dams that are not providing much power or are silted up should be removed. They want to remove the bigger dams on the Columbia then they'd better have the replacement nuke plant on line and a way to prevent the Van Port floods again.

Obviously something else is going on in the oceans that allow these record runs. Mainly Eastern Pacific cooling (La Nina).

Waiting for my buddy to get back from killing caribou then I'm gonna see if he wants to chase some Tyee.

I remember my uncle talking of salmon runs back in the 1930's allowing locals to fill burlap feed sacks with fish to can. These runs were on small streams where I live now that barely support runs of any fish. Taking out a dams on the Elwah might not give us significantly bigger ocean catches but each little bit helps.

I agree the Columbia dams are unlikely to be removed but there's room for added hatchery production and habitat restoration on Columbia tributaries that will help the overall runs.

Seeing runs like we have this fall on the Columbia just tells us what is possible. I'd like to see better runs in future years and seasons set so there are upriver fishing opportunities for northeast Oregon, eastern Washington along with the Snake and Clearwater rivers in Idaho. These last few days have been exciting to watch.

there running in the great lakes tribs too...

An update: The prediction for adult Fall Run Salmon entering the upstream portion of the Columbia River system now is at 800,000. Since August 1, there have been 717,488 Fall Run fish pass upstream through Bonneville Dam. The total numbers of the run from the mouth of the river will be 1.2 million fish. Our hometown river, the Umatilla, will have a run of approximately 2200. I'm dusting off my salmon rod!

As of August 1 of this year

All great news!

Great to hear.

Is spawning salmon ok to eat?

No, send them to me frozen for safe disposal.

Smart ass, I was just wondering as seeing how they are half dead allready. Whether the meat was good or if there was a rule of thimb about eating it

Keep it cold and remove the skin.
Better odds of good meat that way.
The rivers in my area are REALLY warm, yet.

Ive also heard that belly color can be an indicator?

They can be a crap shoot.
That's why God invented smokers....

We used to snag them with leaded four prong hooks in creeks, and the bay shallows. Not much sport.
They'd look like hell after spawning, and were dying. The smaller ones were okay when smoked, but nothing to write to momma about.

Those days are long gone. Having one of those snag hooks in the tackle box qualifies you for a big fine.

Was that up near Pulaski or out at oak orchard?

Yee haw!

I fondly remember the Coho runs in LAke Erie from back in the late 60's and early 70's. Not pigs like you have there but fine table fare.

Nicely done
Patty