Coho salmon are showing up much earlier than expected in the Lower Columbia River, and state Fish and Wildlife has issued a new rule for anglers to release all coho.
Anglers are now required to release coho through July 31 from the Astoria-Megler Bridge to a point almost 300 miles upstream on the Columbia River.
The fall salmon fishing season on the Columbia River begins Aug. 1, and anglers can then begin keeping hatchery coho.
The new fishing rule, outlining daily catch limits upriver from the Astoria-Megler Bridge can be viewed at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/.