Washington and Oregon approved on Thursday a four-day extension of spring chinook salmon fishing in the lower Columbia River, with angling now open through April 10.
Water conditions have been horrible for fishing success, with the river at Vancouver 1.6 feet above flood stage, only 12 inches of visibility and just 44 degrees.
Through Sunday, the catch is projected at 53 spring chinook, with about 25 of upper Columbia origin. The early-season allocation is 6,905 spring chinook.
State biologists assumed that through Wednesday there would have been 2,400 upper Columbia chinook taken if this were a normal year.
Given the water conditions in the Columbia, it is difficult to project future catches when fishing conditions improve, which will not be any time soon.
Spring chinook passage over Bonneville Dam totals 14 fish. Typically, about 200 fish would be expected past Bonneville by this date.