We just received this forecast from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. It looks like fishing is going to be awesome this year! Here is the release:
In addition to nearly a million Columbia River coho swimming in the ocean, 1.6 million fall Chinook are expected to the Columbia River in 2014, the largest return since at least 1938!
Nearly 1 million of those Chinook are expected to be upriver brights of which 2/3 will be four-year-olds. This year’s forecasted run is over 25% larger than the 2013 actual return. Last year’s actual return came in nearly twice as large as the preseason forecast.
COLUMBIA RIVER FALL CHINOOK
2013 Forecast/Actual Returns and 2014 Preseason Forecasts
|
2013 |
2014 |
||
| Stock Group |
February Forecasts |
Actual Returns |
February Forecasts |
| Lower River Hatchery – LRH |
88,000 |
103,200 |
110,000 |
| Lower River Wild – LRW |
14,200 |
25,800 |
34,200 |
| Bonneville Pool Hatchery – BPH |
38,000 |
86,600 |
115,100 |
| Upriver Bright – URB |
432,500 |
784,100 |
973,300 |
| Bonneville Upriver Bright – BUB |
35,200 |
35,600 |
49,500 |
| Pool Upriver Bright – PUB |
70,000 |
207,800 |
310,600 |
| Select Area Bright – SAB |
9,000 |
23,300 |
10,200 |
| Columbia River Total |
686,900 |
1,266,400 |
1,602,900 |
2014 Forecasts
-
LRH – Similar to the 5-year average (95,500) and 2013 actual return.
-
LRW – Largest return since 1989. More than double the 10-year average (13,600).
-
BPH – About 40% greater than the 10-year average (80,700).
-
URB – Nearly 1 million fish…..
-
BUB – About 35% greater than 10-year average (36,500).
-
PUB – Record high forecasted return. Highest actual return on record was 207,800 in 2013.
-
The total forecast of 1,602,900 Columbia River fall Chinook would be the largest return on record since 1938.
February 13, 2014, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
U.S. v Oregon Technical Advisory Committee Sub-group