The northern pikeminnow, or Columbia River dace, Ptychocheilus oregonensis, is a large member of the minnow

Minnow

Minnow is a general term used to refer to small freshwater and saltwater fish, especially those used as bait fish or for fishing bait. More specifically, it refers to small freshwater fish of the carp family.-True minnows:...

 family, Cyprinidae. Until 1999, when the American Fisheries Society officially changed the common name to pikeminnow, the four species of this genus were known as squawfish. Female northern pikeminnow reach sexual maturity at about six years, males in three to five. They can live longer than 15 years, reaching over 24 inches and eight pounds. The current world record weight for the squawfish is 13½ pounds and is held by Christopher Borger and Michael Ray of Edmonton, Alberta. A mature female can lay 30,000 eggs annually. Pikeminnow are voracious predators, and in the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 and Snake River

Snake River

The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...

 salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 smolt

Smolt

Smolt may refer to:* Spawn , a juvenile fish.* Smolt , a project aimed at hardware information collection....

s comprise a large part of their diet. Their population has flourished with the development of the Columbia River Hydro-power System. The reservoirs have provided excellent habitat for pikeminnow and given them an advantage over depressed salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 and steelhead populations. While historically pikeminnow have not been of interest commercially nor to sport anglers, Washington and Oregon state fisheries agencies and the Bonneville Power Administration

Bonneville Power Administration

The Bonneville Power Administration is an American federal agency based in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to construct facilities necessary to transmit that power...

 have placed a bounty (reward)

Bounty (reward)

A bounty is a payment or reward often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or object. They are typically in the form of money...

on them in order to reduce predation on scarce salmon stocks. A sport fishery has developed based on that bounty.