This year, they likely will get to catch upwards of 10,000 fish, about four times more than last year. It's a few weeks too early to tell if the runs will be as big as forecasted. And there are still big questions about the health of wild runs. But the promise of a good season held through the first few days of counting returns at the dams, and enthusiasm is sweeping well beyond tribal offices. It's the beginning of good times ahead.
Happy days are here again.
High jack counts usually indicate strong returns the following year. As this migration season starts, the salmon boom seems to be widespread and state predictions are for solid to excellent steelhead and fall chinook runs in the Columbia Basin. This spring, Umatilla tribal leaders have predicted a decade-high 3,500 spring chinook in the Umatilla River, up from 13 fish when the run was reintroduced in 1988, according to the tribal newspaper. And the run size forecast for upper Columbia spring chinook is 28,000, compared with a return of 7,400 last year, said Jim Cummins, state fish biologist in Yakima. About 2,000 spring chinook a day are crossing Bonneville Dam.