I was able to fish Lake Wenatchee on the opening day of sockeye fishing last Thursday, and every day since. The fishing has been the best that I can remember.
No wonder, since there are probably over 100,000 sockeye that have passed over Tumwater Dam, with even more on the way.

The big buzz last week was the opening of sockeye salmon fishing on Lake Wenatchee, which was on Thursday, July 28th. This is one of the most popular fisheries in Central Washington, despite the long waits at the State Park every morning. It is typical to spend more time putting a boat in and taking it out than getting a limit of sockeye on the lake. When I stopped by Tumwater Dam last Tuesday to check the count the sign at the counting station said that over 42,000 sockeye had passed through the dam, and they were at least three days behind. That’s why we got to start the season with a four-fish limit. There were already 20,000 more fish than is needed for escapement.
People like me were scrambling to get their boats ready. Lucky me, I moved mine to a dock on the lake. I have been busy tying leaders and making sure that the barbs have been pinched down. My plan was to start with half the rods with hoochies on them and half with just three bare red hooks. Then I could know right away what the fish want. I tied both 12-inch and 10-inch leaders.

The opening day of the sockeye season on Lake Wenatchee was one of the best ever as far as I could tell. I saw nets out everywhere all morning. I think there were just over 100 boats out, scattered from the top end of the lake down as far as I could see. Tom Verschuren and I got everything sorted out and got to fishing at about 5:30 and we had our eight fish by 7:30. We lost a bunch and missed a ton of hits and finished with our second double. I had two rods out with three bare red hooks on one side of the boat and on the other had two rods with hoochies. We couldn’t see that it made any difference on the number of fish or the number of fish hooked and landed. This was Tom’s first time sockeye fishing, and he really had a blast. I stopped at Tumwater dam to get an update, and the board said that 73,164 sockeye had passed over the dam and they were missing four days of counts from the previous week. The last time I was able to check the dam counts was last Saturday, and it was 97,106. No wonder the fishing was so good!

I have been having a blast fishing for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. The weather has been hot and sunny with no wind at all, so far. This fishery is something special and I try to get special people and my family out for this one. My brother in law Tom got to try Lake Wenatchee for the first time. We have had a couple of unsuccessful fishing trips this summer, and this made up for a few slow days. Once again Brian Anantatmula and his son Josh fished with me, and this time his young daughter Brinley came along. She is a petite girl and these sockeye gave her a thrill and wore her out. One of my favorite days was last Saturday when my brother Rick was able to come and my niece Ellie, with her good friend Michelle. Rick and Ellie and I have fished together since she was a little girl, and we just don’t get out often enough. I have to thank Rollie Schmitten again for all the work he puts in to make all my people welcome and getting his dock in place and repaired to make sure everyone has the best possible time when they visit his home at Sockeye Point. This week’s photo is of the Anantatmula family.

The Wenatchee River also opened for sockeye retention from the mouth to the Icicle Road Bridge from August 1st through September 30th, with no more than two adult hatchery Chinook and up to four sockeye (minimum size 12 inches) allowed to be retained as part of the six-fish daily limit. Anglers must release coho and wild adult Chinook. Selective gear rules are in effect, except use of bait/scent is allowed. Two-pole fishing is not allowed in the river fishery.

On Friday of this week, the 16th Annual Brewster Salmon Derby kicks off, and conditions are right for another great one. We had a cold spring and early summer and the thermal barrier that makes fishing the Brewster Pool so spectacular for kings and sockeye formed very late. Both sockeye and kings shot right on through the Pool and up the Okanogan River. The hot weather finally arrived and the thermal barrier with it. Sockeye and king salmon have been stacking up off the mouth of the Okanogan River just in time to have thousands of both species swarming around the Pool.

The Brewster Derby has always been a favorite of Eastern Washington anglers, and participants have come from all over the state and even out of state. It is a classic small community derby that has treated anglers well every year it has taken place. Not only do anglers appreciate the hard work done by the people from the Brewster community, but the fishing has also been terrific. The success rate for this derby, I believe, is the best in the state for salmon derbies.

I am really looking forward to next week. I have a bunch of people lined up to go sockeye fishing with me. With the water temperatures still in the low 50s the condition of the fish should hold up for at least another week or more.
Yahoo!