Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife closes sturgeon season on Willamette River
By the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced on March 15 that the sturgeon retention season on the lower Willamette River downstream from Willamette Falls, including Multnomah Channel and the Gilbert River, is now closed.
ODFW closed the season following creel survey analysis that indicated harvest was at or near the pre-season guideline of 2,550 sturgeon, following the last fishing day on March 12.
The season had been open three days a week since Feb. 17.
Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is still allowed on the lower Willamette River, and retention is still allowed on the Columbia from the mouth of the river upstream to Bonneville Dam and from The Dalles Dam to McNary Dam. Anglers are reminded that all sturgeon fishing, including catch-and-release, is prohibited between the I-205 Bridge and Willamette Falls from May 1 through Aug. 31 because that section of the river has been designated as a sturgeon spawning sanctuary.