More than 500,000 sockeye salmon have passed Bonneville Dam so we may be on our way to a new record return for this species. It’s not easy to say why we are getting so many sockeye. These really big returns are relatively new so there haven't been enough returns to create a model to use to predict them properly. Ocean conditions have obviously improved as returns of all salmon are up this year. The tribal hatchery near Penticton, B.C. may be contributing. It has the capacity to release five million smolts when they get enough sockeye eggs. When I fish the Brewster Pool I think there are more anglers fishing for sockeye than for kings. When the limit is four sockeye per day I can understand why. Many anglers will run their Chinook gear for the first hour or so and then switch to sockeye. If I recall, I start off with a 20-20 approach to sockeye. That means 20 feet back behind the downrigger ball and 20 feet deep. The thermal barrier hasn’t formed off the mouth of the Okanogan, but there is “dirty water” barrier that should keep both the kings and sockeye salmon in the Columbia.
Stuart Hurd sent me this photo of “dirty water” barrier at the mouth of the Okanogan River.