If you haven’t seen the salmon forecasts there is some good and bad news for some of the more popular fisheries in our region. The returns of spring Chinook to the Columbia remain in decline for some tributaries. The total number of spring Chinook anticipated to be bound for the upper Columbia is 75,200, down from 81,300 last year. It is hoped that the continuing discussions with the State of Oregon will result in a reduction of use of gillnet in the main stem Columbia that have been approved by Washington State. This would be an important step to aid in recovery of upper Columbia spring Chinook. The return of summer Chinook continues to improve if the forecast plays out. Last year’s actual return was 65,494. The forecast for the 2021 season is for 77,600. We had some excellent fishing for summer runs last year and it could be even better in 2021. Disappointing is the forecast for the sockeye return to Lake Wenatchee. It is forecast to be 27,300 in 2021. It was 56,111 in 2020. The return of the Columbia River stock of sockeye is anticipated to be 127,300 in 2021. It was 273,667 in 2020.
This is one of my favorite photos of my wife Eileen. She is scraping the snow from the boat windows at the launch at the State Park a couple of years ago.