I got word that there were rumors flying around about an early closure to the fall salmon season on the Hanford Reach. To get to the bottom of this I contact Paul Hoffarth the Region 3 headquarters of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and asked if this was true. According to Hoffarth things are looking better this fall. The update on the run forecast on Monday the 23rd was positive. The department wants to keep the season open through October 15th and with a one fish limit is looks like it will make it. The updated harvest estimate is for 10,900 fish. Last year the harvest was 8,700 and the season ran through the 15th of October. The fish counts over Bonneville and McNary dams are still good, and they may even keep the lower section open through the end of September. I did a quick check of the dam counts over Bonneville and McNary on Tuesday and fall kings are still coming at a rate of over 6,000 per day. If you are like me and want to put some salmon in the freezer to smoke up this winter, better start planning a trip to the Reach!