Get Paid to Fish: Northern Pikeminnow Bounty Program

Each year, thousands of sport anglers fish the Columbia River and get paid for their catches. Some have earned more than $30,000, just from recreational fishing. How are they doing this?

Northern Pikeminnow are often considered a nuisance fish by most anglers in the Pacific Northwest. The younger ones, averaging 6 inches, will peck and nibble away at bait that anglers use, resulting in much annoyance. Using smaller hooks, anglers can often catch dozens of them in an hour. One of my earliest fishing memories is catching 25 northern pikeminnow, using bread pieces, on a dock at Lake Merwin. We took them home, cooked them, and quickly discovered that they are loaded with small bones. Still, northern pikeminnow are a great fish for young anglers to practice their fishing skills on.

More importantly, why would anyone pay for northern pikeminnow? It has been established that the pikeminnow prey heavily on steelhead and salmon smolts, killing and eating them as they attempt to travel through the Columbia River to the ocean. This predation is actually not a new issue, since pikeminnow are native to the area. However, the building of dams for hydroelectric power across the Columbia River has created areas where the smolts are in large numbers, and are easy prey for the hungry pikeminnows. Thus, the problem is a man-made one, and one way of helping stem the loss of baby salmon and steelhead (and thus increase return rates of adult fish) is to cut down on the number of northern pikeminnow in the Columbia River.

The bounty program for northern pikeminnow only pays money for fish 9 inches and longer. Also, you must first register at an official registration station before fishing on any given day. Thus, it's best to dedicate more than just a few hours to hunting pikeminnow, especially since they have become a popular fish to catch after the instatement of the bounty program. The Columbia River and certain select bodies of water connected to it are the only places where the northern pikeminnow may be caught and retained for a bounty. You won't be paid for them if they are not caught in the designated areas. A complete list of registration stations and official fishing locations may be found at the programs official website, www.pikeminnow.org.Some anglers only use bait to catch the pikeminnow, including nightcrawlers, worms, and chicken livers. However, many of those targeting the larger species swear by lures, including plastic grubs and spinners, designed to look like small baitfish or smolts. My biggest pikeminnow was caught on a jig, drifted in the current. It can be pretty easy to catch a lot of small pikeminnow, but catching the larger ones can be a bit of a challenge, especially with all the pressure on the fishery from bounty hunters.

Still, have hope! While over 3.5 million northern pikeminnow have been caught and turned into the program sine 1990, there are still plenty of them to catch! The program pays $4 for the first 100 fish turned in under your name (if eligble), $5 for the next 100, and so on, finally capping out at $8. The program runs from May 1st through September 30, and includes portions of the Snake River (from its mouth to Hells Canyon). You should definitely at least give this bounty fishing program shot during the summer fishing season. Tight lines!