Wind continues to be an issue for anglers fishing for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. The slow sockeye bite is a mystery, and anglers are getting beat up on the water for very few fish. Everyone is hoping that the bite will improve. I sure hope so.
I had an enthusiastic family crew on board the Bob Feil Boats and Motors Smoker Craft Phantom last Thursday. Ed and Karen Heim had traveled from Anaconda, Montana and Janet Pace came from Irrigon, Oregon. They were all excited about the prospect of catching some sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. The lake was fairly calm when we left the dock and headed to the top end of the lake. For the first time this season it was raining. We had plenty of rain gear to pass around so it didn’t dampen our spirits. Looking down lake we saw a very impressive sunrise but looking up lake there was a big rain squall headed our way. There was a fairly good bite, and we had a nice sockeye in the boat earlier than I had the past few trips. We had three nice fish in the cooler by 7:30, then the wind started to blow. I wanted to cruise over to Glacier View, but I was going sideways in the wind, so I pointed the boat down lake. We got a great hit on one of the riggers, but no hook up. They were all happy, though, having each landed their first sockeye. This week’s photo is of the three of them, with Janet holding up one of the sockeye she landed during her visit.
You can count me among the anglers that are frustrated by the sockeye bite on Lake Wenatchee. About 50,000 fish have passed through Tumwater Dam, and in years past when we had this number of fish in the lake, fishing was great. We have been spoiled the past two seasons. In 2023 over 100,000 sockeye were in the lake and the fishing was really good. In 2024 the total number of sockeye that were counted over Tumwater Dam was around 170,000! Talk about fish in a barrel. I talked to a WDFW staff member, and he said the most recent survey indicated that the catch rate on Lake Wenatchee is 1.9 fish per boat. I have made several adjustments during the season, and I just posted a video on the Dave Graybill YouTube channel that shows them. You may want to watch this video to see if you have made the same changes to get more sockeye in your boat. The name of the video is: “Lake Wenatchee Sockeye Update”.
I finally figured out that my weather apps, and I have three, can’t forecast squat for wind. They may be able to tell me when the sun is going to come out, but they are awful about predicting the wind. It says the wind will blow from 3 to 5 mph and it’s blowing 10 to 15! I will admit that the wind isn’t as bad this year as it was last season, but come on, give us a break. I am spending too much time up at the top end of the lake to get out of the wind every day. After I have scratched out a fish or two, I head down lake to some of my favorite areas around West Point and such, and more often than not the wind drives me off the water. I am tired of trying to keep the Bob Feil Boats and Motors Smoker Craft straight and my speed right on my Minn Kota when the gusts push my stern around and push me so hard that I have to start the Mercury kicker to slow me down. I can’t blame the wind for everything. People keeping saying the bite will turn around.
There is a short season on the upper Columbia River that gets by many anglers. In the area below the Highway 17 Bridge at Bridgeport, the river is closed fishing except for trout. This season was introduced when a high abundance of triploid rainbow from Rufus Woods were in this stretch of river. The season opens July 1st every year and runs through August 15th, and the daily limit is ten fish! There are two boat launches in Bridgeport and several good areas to look for these fish. I have caught many of these while fishing for steelhead in the past with a bobber and jig. Anglers also have good success casting white hoochies or squid-shaped plastic lures, with a weight about three feet ahead of the lure. Back trolling plugs is another technique. There is a good eddy at the bottom end of the drift below the bridge on the east side of the river, and another eddy at the bottom end of the drift below the sandy beach on the other side of the river. The “Blow Hole” is another place where these big trout hang out. Anglers largely ignore this fishery so there should be good numbers of them here.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is celebrating its 10th anniversary of the Statewide Trout Derby. Anglers can still catch a tagged trout and claim one of more than 500 prizes yet to “caught”. There were over a thousand prizes in this year’s derby, worth over fifty four thousand dollars. The derby runs through October 31st, so there is still plenty of time to get to one of the lakes that has tagged trout and catch one. You can get a list of the lakes that have tagged trout in them by going to the Trout Derby page on the WDFW website. Just log onto WFDWTroutDerby.com and you will find the list and other important information about the derby. Some of the prizes that are still available in this year’s derby include: Mariners tickets, resort stays, quality fishing gear, gift cards valued up to two hundred and fifty dollars, and other terrific prizes. All you need to do is take the orange tag from the fish you catch to the business on the tag to claim your prize. It’s just that easy. Enjoy the fun of fishing, catch tagged trout and claim your prize. Good luck anglers!
