As you may have noticed in my last report, I had a tough time catching sockeye below Wells Dam. I will blame the heavy spill and wild current for my difficulty. Looking at the Fish Counts at the Fish Passage Center, I still have time to get some fish. As of last Saturday, the count over Rocky Reach was over 190,000 and only a fraction of that number have run up over Wells. The thermal barrier has yet to set up off the mouth of the Okanogan River but that could change very soon. We have a stretch of very hot weather ahead of us that could put it firmly in place, and that means great fishing for both sockeye and summer run kings in the Pool. I have been busy getting ready for trips to Banks Lake for walleye, Rufus Woods for walleye and triploids and possibly even Lake Roosevelt for rainbow. I also spent some time tying leaders for the anticipated sockeye fishery on Lake Wenatchee. The counts are very encouraging for a possible opener toward the end of the month. There are over 30,000 sockeye “between the dams” and we need about 23,000 for a season.
Brian Nielson holds up one of the triploids we caught, along with some dandy walleye, on Rufus Woods.