The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is forecasting an increase
in the number of Willamette spring chinook returning this year, but is
telling anglers the increase isn’t large enough for the Commission to consider
lengthening the fishing week to seven days.
ODFW is expecting the 1999 return to rise to 46,500, slightly higher
than the 1998 run of 45,100, and well above 1996 and 1997 returns that
averaged fewer than 35,000.
Despite the improvement, ODFW said, the run size is still