December 29, 2022 10:00 a.m.

For the first time since 2019, anglers will be able to harvest adult wild spring Chinook in the mainstem Umpqua River.

A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said bag limits for the North Umpqua River will remain the same as 2022.

In 2023, the mainstem Umpqua River bag limit will be one adult wild spring Chinook per day, five per season. The season will run from February 1st through June 30th. North Umpqua regulations will remain one adult wild spring Chinook per day and ten per season. Anglers are reminded that the mainstem Umpqua seasonal bag limit is in aggregate with the North Umpqua.

ODFW said anglers may still retain hatchery spring Chinook in addition to wild fish as part of their two salmon or steelhead per day limit. Jack wild spring Chinook limits remain unchanged. See 2023 fishing regulations for details: https://www.eregulations.com/assets/docs/guides/23ORFW.pdf

The release said the wild spring chinook bag limits for the rivers are set annually by a sliding scale created as part of the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan. The abundance criteria, which incorporates 2022’s wild fish returns and the forecasted 2023 returns, is currently in the “medium” category of the sliding scale.