Pikeminnow Reward Fishing Season Opens

Fishing in the Columbia and Snake rivers this spring and summer could be rewarding for those who pursue the northern pikeminnow. The 2006 sport reward program for the northern pikeminnow opens May 1 on the Columbia River below John Day Dam east of Biggs, Ore. The season opens May 15 for the upstream reaches to Priest Rapids Dam in central Washington and to Hells Canyon Dam on the Snake River in Idaho. The season closes Oct. 1. The Northern Pikeminnow Management Program will pay $4 to $8 for each of the salmon-eating predators delivered by anglers to stations along the Columbia and Snake rivers. The more northern pikeminnow each angler catches, the more the fish are worth. The first 100 bring $4 each. The next 300 are worth $5 each, and after 400 are turned in, they're worth $8 each. As an added incentive, specially tagged fish released into the rivers will garner $500 each. Anglers have averaged several hundred dollars during a season; the top 20 have made from $15,000 to nearly $35,000 fishing for pikeminnow. To be credited, fish must be at least nine inches long and must be caught in the lower Columbia River-from the mouth to Priest Rapids Dam-and the Snake River to Hells Canyon Dam. Program participants must register in person at one of the registration stations in Oregon or Washington each day before fishing. The catch must be turned in each day and reward vouchers are issued for qualified fish. The program is designed to reduce the number of mature pikeminnow in the lower Columbia and lower Snake Rivers. These large fish thrive by devouring juvenile salmon. Since 1990, fishing has removed nearly 2.7 million northern pikeminnow. Last year alone, nearly 300,000 of the predators were turned in for reward, saving thousands of juvenile salmon. The program has cut juvenile salmon losses by 25 percent. The northern pikeminnow caught are not going to waste. They go into agriculture as liquid organic fertilizer, and as fish meal in feed for poultry and cattle. Information about where to find northern pikeminnow, how to fish for them and how to qualify for the sport reward program is available from the Washington Sport Reward Hot Line at 800-858-9015. For voucher information, call 800-769-9362 or 503-595-3297 in Portland. Visit the website at http://www.pikeminnow.org