Montana Fish Report

The Columbia River Subarea (Leadbetter Point, WA to Cape Falcon, OR) all-depth halibut fishery will be open for one additional day on Thursday, June 21.

After the most recent openings in Washington, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has determined that there is enough quota remaining in the Washington recreational quota to have all Washington subareas, including the Columbia River Subarea, open on June 21.

Since Washington and Oregon co-manage the Columbia River Subarea, and have license reciprocity, anglers fishing out of Oregon ports in the subarea will be allowed to participate in the all-depth halibut fishery on Saturday as well. The Columbia River Subarea nearshore fishery also remains open, seven days per week until the quota is caught, or Sept. 30, whichever comes first.

Opportunities to fish for Pacific halibut remain open in other areas of Oregon as well:

• Off the Central Oregon Coast Subarea (Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain) anglers may fish for halibut inside the 40-fathom line, seven days per week through Oct. 31, or attainment of the harvest quota (25,856 pounds) for that fishery.
• The all-depth halibut fishery in the Central Oregon Coast Subarea is scheduled to be open June 21-23, with any back-up dates announced by noon on Friday, June 29. The summer all-depth season is scheduled to begin on Aug. 3-4 and be open every other Friday and Saturday until Oct. 31, or the quota of 53,866 pounds has been met. The high-relief area of Stonewall Bank, west of Newport, is closed to all halibut fishing.
• The area between Humbug Mountain and the OR/CA Border is open to all depth for Pacific halibut seven days per week through Oct. 31, or until the quota of 8,982 pounds has been met, whichever comes first.

Days on which Pacific halibut fishing is open will be announced on the NOAA Fisheries hotline (1-800-662-9825) and posted on the ODFW Marine Resources Program Website.