No Deschutes River spring Chinook season again this year, due to low returns; Hood River opens April 15

(Update: Deschutes hasn't had spring Chinook season since 2018)

THE DALLES, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has set the following regulations for a spring Chinook fishery on the Hood River:

• Open for adult hatchery Chinook from April 15 through June 30 from the tips of jetties at the mouth to mainstem confluence with the East Fork, and the West Fork from the confluence with the mainstem upstream to the angling deadline 200 feet downstream of Punchbowl Falls.
• The catch limit is one adult hatchery salmon per day, and five hatchery jack salmon per day.
• All wild Chinook salmon must be released unharmed.

Fishery managers are predicting a good return of about 1,240 adult hatchery fish for the Hood River, which is similar to last year's actual return.

There will be no season for spring Chinook on the Deschutes River for 2023 -- for the fifth straight year -- due to another year of predicted poor returns of wild fish.

ODFW fish biologist Jason Seals said the lower Deschutes hasn't had a spring Chinook season since 2018.

"Returns of wild spring Chinook to the Warm Springs River, which is where they occur in the Deschutes, have been very low," he said.

According to Seals, the Hood River fishery is one of the few places a bank angler has a good chance of catching a Columbia River spring Chinook. Seals said the run usually peaks in late May, due to colder water temperatures in the Hood River.

For the latest regulations for the Central Fishing Zone visit https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/central-zone and click the Regulation Updates tab.