Wednesday marks the opening of this year’s Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery in the Columbia and Snake rivers.  The program pays registered anglers $5 to $8 for each pikeminnow that is at least nine inches long.  And some fish have an even bigger payout, as state fish and wildlife biologists have released up to 1,000 specially tagged northern pikeminnow into the Columbia and Snake rivers, each worth $500.  Last year the top fisherman in the program earned more than $71,000 in just five months of fishing.  Since 1990, anglers paid through the program have removed nearly five million pikeminnow from the Columbia and Snake rivers, reducing predation from pikeminnow on young salmon and steelhead by approximately 40% since it began.  The 2019 Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery begins Wednesday and is scheduled to run through Sept. 30.  For more information visit www.pikeminnow.org, or call 800-858-9015.