Travel / Outdoors

Mark Yuasa covers fishing and outdoors in the Pacific Northwest.

State Fish and Wildlife released the Columbia River summer and winter steelhead forecasts to Bonneville Dam, which show an improvement over last season’s actual return.

The total upriver summer steelhead return forecast is 339,200 (96,700 are wild) compared to last year’s forecast of 380,300 (109,800 were wild) and an actual return of 230,800 (65,300 were wild).

The winter wild steelhead return forecast is 15,700 compared to last year’s 15,300 forecast and an actual return of 17,300.

Here is the breakdown of the total summer steelhead returns:

The upriver Skamania forecast is 16,600 (5,300 are wild) compared to last year’s 15,700 (4,600 were wild) forecast and an actual return of 10,900 (3,000 were wild).

The Group A-run forecast is 291,000 (83,500 are wild) compared to last year’s 311,800 (91,800 were wild) forecast and an actual return of 192,200 (55,500 were wild).

The Group B-run forecast is 31,600 (7,900 are wild) compared to last year’s 52,800 (13,400 were wild) forecast and an actual return of 27,700 (6,800 were wild).

(Photo courtesy of Mark Harrison, The Seattle Times staff photographer)