John Day River to open for spring Chinook

The upper John Day River will open to spring Chinook fishing this Saturday, under temporary rules announced Monday by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The river will be open from the Longview Ranch’s Johnson Creek Division bridge (located approximately 200 feet upstream from the mouth of the North Fork John Day River) upstream 19.5 miles to the mouth of Rattlesnake Creek near the south end of Picture Gorge from Saturday, May 17 through Sunday, June 1.

The bag limit will be two adult Chinook salmon and five jack salmon per day; it is unlawful to continue fishing for jacks after taking a daily bag limit of two adult Chinook salmon. A fishing license including a Columbia River Basin Endorsement and a combined angling tag are required for this fishery. There are no developed drift boat launches in this area so fishing is expected to be from the bank only.

“Thanks to strong returns of Chinook over Bonneville Dam this year, we already have exceeded our escapement goals for the upper mainstem of the John Day River and have fish available for anglers to harvest,” said Jeff Neal, ODFW fish biologist in John Day.

Neal credits the strong John Day return to the on-going efforts of landowners working collaboratively to improve fish habitat and remove fish passage barriers.

ODFW will operate a check station near Picture Gorge for angler information and to collect data. The station will be open during randomly selected days throughout the fishery. All anglers are encouraged to check in after fishing.

For more information contact Jeff Neal or Brent Smith, district fish biologists, at 541-575-1167 x226.