SALEM – The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced that the 2009 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations are now available at vendors and at ODFW offices throughout the state. The new regulations take effect Jan. 1, 2009.

There have been some major changes from the 2008 regulations as result of the recently completed angling regulation review process, which considered over 340 proposed rule changes.  A total of 76 staff and 21 public rule changes were approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in September.

“Some of the proposed regulations received a lot of media attention and may be well-known to anglers, but anglers should review the entire pamphlet for other changes in statewide, zone or special regulations that may affect their favorite fisheries,” said Rhine Messmer, ODFW Recreational Fisheries Program Manager.

Changes from the 2008 regulations, which remain in effect until Dec. 31, are highlighted in blue in the newly released pamphlet.

Some of the new regulation changes for 2009 include:

• The opportunity to harvest adipose fin-clipped coho salmon in the areas of the Northwest and Southwest Zones open to chinook salmon and steelhead. The intent is to allow anglers to harvest stray hatchery coho.
• An additional harvest opportunity for cutthroat trout in North Coast streams. Healthy trout populations make it possible to allow limited harvest (two fish per day) in this dispersed trout fishery.
• A new bag limit for Crane Prairie Reservoir in the Central Zone. Anglers may now keep only one wild, unmarked rainbow trout.
• A permanently reduced bag limit for kokanee (five per day) on Lake Billy Chinook due to conservation concerns. ODFW reduced the bag limit from 25 fish per day to five by temporary regulation in August. The reduced limit becomes permanent under the new 2009 regulations.
• A new way to measure sturgeon in the Columbia River Zone. Sturgeon will now be measured using fork length instead of total length to allow for more accurate measurement. The length slot limits also have been adjusted so anglers may retain the same size sturgeon as under the old measurement standard.
• There is a new bag limit (five per day) and maximum size limit of 15 inches in length for bass on Prineville Reservoir. The new 2009 pamphlet incorrectly states there is a 15-inch minimum.

The new regulations are available at license vendors, retailers and ODFW offices throughout the state, and in electronic form at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/.

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