The Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery Program kicked off this week in the lower Columbia and Snake rivers and is open through Sept. 28.

The program is designed to reduce the number of, but not eradicate, northern pikeminnow. These fish are a large member of the minnow family that eat millions of young salmon and steelhead each year. Researchers believe reducing the number of these predators greatly helps salmon and steelhead survival.

Since 1991, more than 3.2 million northern pikeminnow have been removed from the Snake and Columbia rivers through the sport reward program. Last year, 191,154 northern pikeminnow were turned in. As a result, northern pikeminnow predation on juvenile salmon in 2007 was cut by an estimated 37 percent.

The program is administered by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and is funded by the Bonneville Power Administration.

"Predatory pikeminnow devour many juvenile salmon each year, but this sport reward program is reducing the number of predators, and that increases the chances of survival for our region's young salmon," said Greg Delwiche, vice president of Environment, Fish and Wildlife at BPA. "We have the anglers in our region to thank for continuing to form the backbone of this incentive-driven program, and we look forward to their enthusiastic participation again this year."

For further details, registration sites and program rules, go to www.pikeminnow.org

There are many sites up and down the Columbia and Snake rivers with pikeminnow registration stations and virtually hundreds of locations to catch these fish. Because pikeminnow are not strong swimmers, look for docks and other sheltered areas that help break the river current. Pikeminnow tend to cruise shoreline areas looking for prey fish to intercept.

Of the 17 registration stations in the basin, those recording the highest pikeminnow returns from fishermen in 2007 were Boyer Park near the Lower Granite Dam in Washington with 32,751 fish, followed closely by The Dalles Boat Basin near The Dalles, Ore., with 29,023 fish. In 2006 and 2005, The Dalles site took top honors both years.

As for bait, options abound, but the most popular bait of all appears to be chicken liver. Other common baits include worms, crayfish and grasshoppers or crickets. Baits are typically cast into likely pikeminnow holding areas and drifted in an arc downstream.

The most popular method, "plunking," involves baiting a Number 2 hook and using just enough lead weights - from a half ounce to two ounces - that the bait is held in position against the current. A variation is to use a little less weight so the bait dances slightly with the current.

Anglers who register and follow the rules of the program will be paid $4 per fish up to 100 pikeminnow. The bounty jumps to $5 per fish for each fish over 101 total and $8 per fish for 401 fish and above. There are hundreds of pikeminnow in the basin with special tags worth $500 each, should an angler be so lucky.