Everyone is wondering what will happen with the sockeye season this year. That’s the big question out there right now. Same with the Chinook season. Both runs are either very weak or arriving later than usual.
Most of you know the sockeye run is coming in below the original forecast. I have learned that it has been downgraded to 183,000 fish to enter the Columbia River. That’s the bad news, the good news is that the sockeye season above Priest Rapids Dam will open July 1st, with a four-fish limit, as stated in the regs. There will be other meetings on the return, which might mean an adjustment in the daily limit to two fish to extend the season, but that is yet to be determined. The WDFW is looking for ways to keep anglers on the water fishing for sockeye as long as possible. There are some other options being considered, but only if the numbers over Priest Rapids further decline and harvest in the upper river exceed what is anticipated. The Chinook return is also being changed. Only slightly more than 40,000 are expected to reach the upper Columbia. Highly likely is the opening of the Entiat River, and there is the possibility of some very short bubble fisheries later in July. It is important to keep an eye out for any emergency regulation announcements. This sockeye season is very fluid. I know the next questions I will be getting will be about Lake Wenatchee sockeye. It’s way too early to guess on a Lake Wenatchee season. You can bet I will be putting my nose against the fence at the counting station at Tumwater Dam every day, checking on the number of sockeye that are passing through.
I had a video project to do on Moses Lake, so I asked Tom Verschueren to come along and assist. I promised I would take him to some red hot bass fishing spots to make it worth his while. We launched the Bob Feil Boats and Motors Smoker Craft at Cascade Park, and my first stop was at the sunken reef below Connelly Park. I located the reef by carefully searching with the Minn Kota. I am sure that this reef has dinged a few props over the years. I fished here earlier this spring and caught some whopper smallmouth and largemouth bass. Where they went, I don’t know, but they weren’t there on Tuesday. I took us to some my other hot spots further up the lake, and all we got were snags. I was about to fire up the Mercury 250 and run back to the ramp, when Tom asked, “Ever fished over there? Looks like there’s some great rocks along the shore.” I never fish that side of the lake in this area, but just to make him happy, we tried it. Wouldn’t you know it. This is where the only smallmouth we caught the entire day came from. We then went back to Cascade Park where we met Lynne Lynch, who I work with the City of Moses Lake on Tour Moses Lake promotions. She’s the one that got me started on doing the videos on boating accesses and fishing on Moses Lake. This time we did a segment on John E. Calbon Island, which is the park that is only accessed by boat.
Rollie Schmitten has begun his preparations for the sockeye season on Lake Wenatchee. I helped him move his docks, from the top end of the lake, where they spend the winter, to the anchors in front of his house. He and I have been watching the weather and finally saw a window of calm water and went for it. We had to lever a large log from the ramp when we launched his 14 footer from Dickenson’s beach. He picked me up from the shore on his beach and with his dog Roxie along, away we went. As usual the dock was covered with goose and otter poop, and while Rollie retrieved the anchors, I swept the docks. Next Rollie put the bow of the boat in the “L”, pointed it down the lake and began the slow drive to his place. The trick is to get a good line to start with, as steering this “barge” is more than awkward. Rollie was able to hit his mark on the point and snagging the anchor buoys and getting the docks secure went well. There is a little more work to do, but essentially all we need now is fish.
I just spent a couple of days in northern Okanogan County. The mission was to capture video of several of the lakes for a project I am doing for Okanogan County Tourism. What a great experience! I have fished several of the lakes over the years and this trip was a reminder of why I like fishing up there. It was good to survey the lakes for the wide variety of fishing opportunities and also which ones had launches that could accommodate the Bob Feil Boats and Motors Smoker Craft I am driving. Some of the lakes had resorts or nearby services, while others were more remote. There were lakes that offered single species fishing, but many were multi-species. The lakes that I covered and will soon be posting videos of them on the Dave Graybill YouTube channel, were: Conconully Lake and Reservoir, Fish Lake, both Blue lakes, Molson, Osoyoos, Wannacut, Whitestone and Spectacle. Although they weren’t on my list, and since I was in the area, I also visited Palmer and Lake Chopaka. If you haven’t traveled through this country, you will be amazed at the incredibly varied and beautiful scenery. I put almost 500 miles on my truck and loved every mile of it.
It was great to get away and visit these great destinations in Okanogan County. Now I plan on doing some “surveys” of the sockeye fishing in the early season. Oh, and I hope you all have a safe and sane 4th of July Holiday!
