They're going to continue the checkpoints every week. Anything is possible, but those dam counts would have to go up.
Fishing is still pretty decent down there. The last couple days it's been like a third to a half a fish per boat average. On some days it's up to a fish per boat average.
It is an encouraging sign, but we don't know what it all means and where those smelt will end up.
It should be interesting if we don't get too much rain. We were starting to see an increase in steelhead abundance on some streams.
Sturgeon don't mind it if the water is high and dirty, and it is probably the only thing to do fishing wise. I'd try in the smelt zone from Longview down, and in the Willamette plume because the water is warmer there than up towards Bonneville Dam.
We had one unsubstantiated report of some guys getting smelt in the river last Saturday, but nothing's confirmed yet. All I can say at this point is the conditions are right.
Conditions looked pretty good a couple of weeks ago, but the smelt just didn't materialize. It isn't over yet, but the current prognosis isn't that great.
Smelt like it around 42 degrees or higher.
It's not all doom and gloom. The Wind and Drano are the ones that could show some strength. But we have been fooled by good jack returns in the past.
There will be no changes to fishing seasons in the lower tributaries from last year. There will be in-season monitoring of the runs to make sure the seasons are as forecasted.
