Quillayute River System Re-opens To Fishing - Saturday November 4th

Quillayute River system to re-open to fishing;
anglers must release chinook salmon

OLYMPIA – Anglers can make plans to go fishing on the Olympic Peninsula, where much of the Quillayute River system will re-open beginning Saturday, Nov. 4.

The Quillayute River, as well as sections of the Sol Duc, Bogachiel, Calawah and Dickey rivers will re-open for fishing Nov. 4, but anglers must release all chinook salmon, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

WDFW previously closed these rivers to fishing when low river flows were impeding the migration of salmon upstream. The department wanted to ensure that a sufficient number of salmon return to spawning grounds. The Quileute Tribe also closed its fisheries.

"With river levels on the rise, most chinook have moved upstream to the spawning areas, allowing us to re-open these areas to fishing," said Annette Hoffmann, regional fish program manager for WDFW. "However, we want to protect chinook that may still be in these areas, so we're requiring anglers to release any chinook they catch."

Rivers that will re-open to fishing Nov. 4 include:

• Quillayute River.
• Sol Duc River downstream of the concrete pump station at the Sol Duc Hatchery.
• Bogachiel River downstream of the Highway 101 bridge.
• Calawah River downstream of the Highway 101 bridge.
• Dickey River from the Olympic National Park boundary upstream to the confluences of the East and West forks.

For more information, including daily catch limits, anglers should check the department's fishing rule change webpage at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/