Astoria Report/My Plan of Action Next Time

From your regulations exerpt:   Fishing from the Washington shore requires a Washington personal use license.

Right, I alluded to that in my first post.

Snopro, just curious when were you checked by Washington State Police that they allowed your OR license to suffice for a tagged fish on WA shores?

Actually checked both ways, Oregon tag landing in WA and WA tag landing in OR.  Both were pre 2017 so it's possible there was a change but I don't think so.

Salmon Regulations on the Columbia change regularly, and even mid season!  It's best to contact WADFW or ODFW if anyone has any questions about the current regulations.

I was annoyed last year to discover that the Columbia River Endorsement ($16.50) was not required mid season, but was definitely required for springer season.  I haven't fished the Columbia lately, so I have no idea if I need an Endorsement or not this year in order to fish.  It's a freakin' law enforcement comprehension exam to figure out what is needed to fish salmon.  Sorry I said anything.  I don't know nuttin.

Best to contact WADFW or ODFW if anyone is unclear about the current laws of retention for any species in an area you're fishing.

@lutefisk wish i could fish shipwreck, but i launched from the Oregon side and don't want to paddle across the river.

You can legally launch from the Washington side with your Oregon license.

strange thing about this, I think it is correct, the Oregon Columbia River zone regs 2016 book and earlier:

e. Anglers with a valid resident or non-resident license issued by either Oregon or Washington may launch or take out their boats from either shore.

but that line vanished from the regs book in the 2017 and I don't know why.   

to me the question is not whether you can launch or not,   the issue is if you catch a fish and land your boat then set foot on shore with that fish, do you need to have in hand a license for that state?  The way I read it if you set foot on Washington soil with a salmon in hand,  they don't care what part of the water you caught it, but you better have a Washington license of some sort.   Same goes for Oregon.   I may be wrong but that's the way I see it.  Where you launched from doesn't seem that important, where you come to shore with the fish does.

Stand by guys, got an email out to my ODFW contact.

Answer followed by my question. Hope this clears it up.


It is ok to launch from Washington and land back there with an Oregon resident license. It is also OK to launch from the Oregon side with a Washington resident license and land back to the Oregon side.

If a person has a non-resident license from either state but is not a resident or Oregon/Washington, they must launch from and land in the state where they purchased the license.

Hope that makes sense. It is listed on pg. 6-7 of the 2020 sportfishing regulations book.

Robert

Robert W. Bradley
District Fish Biologist
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
North Coast Watershed District
4907 Third St
Tillamook, OR 97141
503-842-2741 x253 (w)
503-842-8385 (fax)


-----Original Message---
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 10:57 AM
To: Robert Bradley <robert.bradley@state.or.us>
Subject: Fishing question

Is it still legal to launch on the Washington side of the Columbia River with an Oregon license to salmon fish as well as launching from Oregon with a Washington license? It use to be listed in the regs. as ok but can’t find it now. Most importantly is it ok to land on either side with a salmon on our kayaks with a license from the other side of the Columbia.

Answer followed by my question. Hope this clears it up.


It is ok to launch from Washington and land back there with an Oregon resident license. It is also OK to launch from the Oregon side with a Washington resident license and land back to the Oregon side.

If a person has a non-resident license from either state but is not a resident or Oregon/Washington, they must launch from and land in the state where they purchased the license.

Hope that makes sense. It is listed on pg. 6-7 of the 2020 sportfishing regulations book.

Robert

Robert W. Bradley
District Fish Biologist
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
North Coast Watershed District
4907 Third St
Tillamook, OR 97141
503-842-2741 x253 (w)
503-842-8385 (fax)


-----Original Message---
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 10:57 AM
To: Robert Bradley <robert.bradley@state.or.us>
Subject: Fishing question

Is it still legal to launch on the Washington side of the Columbia River with an Oregon license to salmon fish as well as launching from Oregon with a Washington license? It use to be listed in the regs. as ok but can’t find it now. Most importantly is it ok to land on either side with a salmon on our kayaks with a license from the other side of the Columbia.

that makes sense.

Thanks for the clarification!

Although Shannon reached out for clarification, it says right here that we are fine because we are fishing from a vessel or floating device: (2) This reciprocity applies only to fishing from a vessel or other floating device. Fishing from the Washington shore requires a Washington personal use license.

We don't fish from the shore.

I have launched from the shipwreck for years and on Saturday morning there were wardens checking kayak fishermen/women that landed at the shipwreck.  No issues.  Washington boaters moor their boats at Hammond and Astoria during the B10 season and clients from both states meet their guides in Astoria or Hammond.  You can even launch from the beach in Long Beach, WA and fish the ocean for salmon with an Oregon license as long as you stay within the bubble of the Columbia River Catch Area.

Oh, and B10 has sucked so far this year.

Oh, and B10 has sucked so far this year.

PM me when you find somewhere that doesn't. :-)

Oh, and B10 has sucked so far this year.

PM me when you find somewhere that doesn't. :-)

I most definitely will.  I did hear the coho bite picked up near the mouth.