July 5, 2024 10:00 a.m.

Chinook angling on the McKenzie River will close Monday July 8th through the end of the year.

A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the agency is taking this step to protect the unexpectedly small runs of both wild and hatchery Chinook salmon observed at Leaburg Dam on the McKenzie River in 2024. Continued angling pressure on this small return of salmon could jeopardize meeting conservation targets upstream of Leaburg Dam and broodstock needs for future hatchery production. ODFW said biologists do not currently know what factors may have caused this small run of Chinook.

The release said the majority of McKenzie spring Chinook fishery occurs in May and June. However, reducing the handling of wild fish and closing the harvest of hatchery fish at this time will get the agency close to conservation and production objectives.

Summer steelhead returns are very good this year and fishing has been productive. ODFW will maintain that opportunity by keeping the steelhead fishery open.

For more fishing information from ODFW, go to: https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/