The popular Buoy 10 salmon fishery near the Lower Columbia River mouth opens this Wednesday, and many are making plans for what should be a return of more than 650,000 kings.

"The forecast appears to be pretty accurate, and it will be a big year for kings as has been seen this summer on the coast, Strait of Juan de Fuca and many other places like (northern) Puget Sound," said Tony Floor, a longtime Buoy 10 angler and director of fishing affairs for the Northwest Marine Trade Association.

The Columbia chinook return usually peaks the third week in August, although the past few years the run has arrived a little bit earlier and in some cases right when it opens.

"It can be pretty good on the opener and there is a big incoming tide during that time, which could wash some fish in," said Joe Hymer, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist.

An early return of chinook migrate back to Youngs Bay on the Oregon side of the lower river, and early commercial catches have shown that some of these fish — a stock introduced from the Rogue River in Oregon — have been around for a few weeks now.

"Youngs Bay might be a good place to prospect early on, and some arrive in the area around July," Hymer said. "There is a wide time frame of when these fish show up, which is well into October, and they're a decent quality fish.

A modest coho return of 317,000 is a bonus, and they'll start trickling in around the same time as the kings. The coho run peaks in mid-September, and can be good all the way through October.

If the Buoy 10 area is slow, many anglers will also head out into the ocean off Ilwaco (when it is open) to CR Buoy for coho or north of the Columbia about four miles off the town of Long Beach for kings.

The best action has clearly moved up by the Astoria-Megler Bridge during either side of the tide change. Remember to get your cut-plug herring or spinner as close to the bottom as possible as these kings tend to hug the sandy deck.

Buoy 10 will be open for chinook, and hatchery coho and steelhead from Wednesday through Sept. 3. Daily limit is two salmon, and only one may be a chinook. From Sept. 4-30, only hatchery coho and steelhead may be kept with a two-fish daily limit. Barbed hooks may be used.

Other news

• The North Jetty is open daily when the marine area off Ilwaco or Buoy 10 areas are open for salmon. The daily limit and minimum size restrictions follow the most liberal of either of these areas. New this season is barbed hooks may be used.

• Salmon fishing on the mainstem Columbia from Rocky Point-Tongue Point upstream to Bonneville Dam, also opens Wednesday under fall rules, when both marked and unmarked chinook and adipose fin-clipped coho and steelhead may be retained.

Anglers will be allowed to retain one adult chinook as part of their two adult salmon daily limit through Sept. 9. Beginning Sept. 10, chinook retention will only be allowed upstream of the Lewis River, but up to two adult chinook may be retained. Up to two adult chinook may be retained downstream of the Lewis beginning Oct. 1.

Check the state regulation pamphlet for specific details on the Columbia River and its tributaries.

Bottomfish closure not necessary

The bottomfishing closure off the northern coast at La Push and Neah Bay that was to begin this past Thursday has now been rescinded by state Fish and Wildlife.

"We got some additional information, and our June catch numbers show a little less yelloweye take than expected so we've got enough new information to revise the closure and keep it open through Labor Day," said Heather Reed, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist.

"We want to have our bottomfish fisheries open as long as possible, and know how important they are to the (La Push and Neah Bay) communities," she said.

All areas are open to sport bottomfishing including rockfish, lingcod, Pacific cod, and all other bottomfish.

There is a total allowable catch of incidental yelloweye rockfish for all coastal fisheries, and if that figure is exceeded then a closure is necessary.

The Washington sport harvest target is about 2.6 metric tons (which is fewer than 2,000 fish) in coastal waters.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com