Just think, just one week from now people will be wondering why the upper Columbia River is crowded with fishing boats. Those who aren’t anglers will soon learn that summer-run salmon season is open, and that’s why certain people will be showing up to work red-eyed and grouchy. That’s because these certain people have been hitting the river at 4 a.m. and then coming to work after spending four or five hours on the water. They will keep this up as long as physically possible. The early season is when some very bright and feisty kings are taken, and hey, it’s been a long time since we here in Central Washington have had a chance to get out after them. Many anglers will start way down river, in the White Bluffs region. Others will start below Wanapum Dam, Wells Dam or off the mouth of the Okanogan near Brewster. Most of them will be “between the bridges” in Wenatchee, but they all have the same goal: putting the net around a fresh, summer-run salmon. I will be joining Shane Magnuson and Dan Shleifers at Wanapum July 1st, and our hopes of heading off a few big kings is the plan.