The charter fleet working out of the Port of Ilwaco is running one of its strongest recreational salmon seasons in decades as the Buoy 10 fishery on the Lower Columbia estuary reaches its peak. Buoy 10, the navigational marker at the mouth of the river, anchors a 40-square-mile fishing zone that draws boats from across the region each August.

“It’s been an excellent fishing year,” said Butch Smith, owner of Coho Charters, whose family fleet is in its 70th year at the port. Smith said Chinook are running at “about 75-80%” of quota, forcing closure of the nearshore ocean fishery, while coho sit near 65 percent. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife counted 20,877 angler trips between August 1 and 9.

Fuel remains the pressure point. Marine diesel spiked to between $5 and $6 per gallon in the spring before easing to roughly $4.68. “So we simply had to pull back on our throttles,” Smith said.