This is going to be one of the most exciting weeks for recreational fishing this season. Sockeye fishing is open on the Columbia River above Priest Rapids Dam and nothing gets anglers out like the opportunity to fish for sockeye. The best fishing areas will be packed with boats trolling for these prized fish and fishing should be good for weeks to come.

People have been watching the dam counts over Bonneville since early June, as the sockeye entered the river. When they come, they come fast. The graph, shown with this week’s column, is the steepest of any return of salmon to the Columbia. The number of sockeye that passed over Bonneville peaked at over 15,000 in one day. Although the graph shows a sharp drop off, these fish will be available to anglers into August.

There will be a rush to the ramp at Wanapum Dam as the season kicks off. Fishing along the riprap below the dam is one of the best places to get sockeye. In recent seasons the fishing below Rocky Reach Dam has been good too. I want to remind anglers that there are boundaries where fishing is allowed below this dam and advise folks to go to the website for the Chelan County PUD to see these areas where you can fish safely. An easy way to get to the Chelan PUD website is to click on the App or PUD banners on the Home Page of my website at www.fishingmagician.com. Also, there is a new app that gives the current water conditions and flows at both Rocky Reach and Rock Island dams.

The next most popular spot for sockeye fishing is below Wells Dam. It’s easy to find out where to fish. There is a large eddy on the right hand side of the river when you’re heading up stream and you will likely see a parade of boats trolling in a circle along its edges. When everyone cooperates and stays in line and fishes at the same speed, this works out fine. It is a fun place to fish as you can see packs of sockeye moving through the area. There will be disturbed water below and soon they will be passing along the shore and into the corner of the eddy before moving into the fish ladder. You can actually see them in the shallows from your boat while trolling.

When good numbers of sockeye have passed over Wells Dam the Brewster Pool lights up. The warm water of the Okanogan River creates a thermal barrier where it meets the Columbia River and salmon, both sockeye and summer runs, stack up in the Pool. This makes the Brewster Pool one of the best places on the Columbia to fish for salmon.

The tackle and techniques used to catch sockeye are the same in all of these areas. I have dedicated my Summer E-Letter to fishing for sockeye and it should be available very soon. The E-Letter is free and loaded with good information and you can request to get on the list to receive it by going to my website and clicking on the Free E-Letter banner at the top left hand side of the Home Page. I will also be posting some helpful videos that can be found and viewed on the Fishing TV Page of my website.

The sockeye run appears to be strong enough this year to even include enough fish to potentially open fishing on Lake Wenatchee. This is a real favorite of local anglers but also gets a lot of attention from those from the west side of the mountains. There is just one boat launch which is at the State Park at the very bottom end of the lake. People line up to put their boats in the water well before daylight. There are so many eager anglers arriving that it can take an hour or two just to get your boat in the water, and the same interval to put your boat on the trailer. It’s worth it though. Particularly in the early season, limits come quickly and the sockeye in Lake Wenatchee are much larger than their cousins in the Columbia River. It is also a very scenic place to fish. The sockeye fishery on Lake Wenatchee usually opens in late July or early August and I will keep you posted.

I want to remind anglers that bait, usually jarred shrimp, is allowed when fishing for sockeye on the Columbia but not on Lake Wenatchee. Bait is not allowed on Lake Wenatchee when fishing for sockeye (with barbless hooks on the lake) to protect the threatened bull trout, and the endangered upper Columbia spring salmon.

The return of summer run salmon to our region looks to be as good or even better than last year. There is some confusion every year as the Technical Advisory Committee that makes decisions on season setting uses a different date to count summer run returns. This can mean the difference of several thousand fish. Now the counts over Priest Rapids are used to determine the exact number of summer runs returning to the upper Columbia. This has worked to our advantage for season setting up here. Although it delays the opening to fishing for summer runs, it has allowed us to fish for them, as it confirms the number of fish available for harvest at such locations as the mouth of the Entiat River, Chelan Falls and in the Brewster Pool. It appears that we will even have a salmon derby at Brewster this year. Yea!

When we get both a big sockeye return and a strong return of summer run salmon the Brewster Pool gets remarkably busy. It’s a fishing party and navigating the Pool among the hundreds of anglers fishing this area can be challenging. You have to keep your head on a swivel to both watch your rods for a bite and avoid cutting off another boat. Everyone is out there to have fun and most practice good ethics on the water.

It is shaping up to be a terrific summer for salmon fishing. Get your gear together and get out there. I hope to see you on the water!