Fishing Magician Report: Salmon fishing patchy on Wenatchee

If you have been sharpening your hooks in anticipation of a sockeye season on Lake Wenatchee, you can put your gear away. The number of sockeye that have been counted over the Tumwater Dam is far below what is needed for a season this year. It does seem odd as we traditionally saw sockeye fisheries on Lake Wenatchee at least every four years, and this would be the fourth year of the cycle.

However, we have had seasons on the lake the past three years. The reasons for the low return up the Wenatchee is being examined as the White River sockeye run is an important one here in Washington. Next year there is supposed to be return of sockeye to the Columbia that may even exceed the near-record return of last year.

If there is good news out there it is that summer run fishing on the upper Columbia continues to be good, even in the Wenatchee area. Good numbers of fish are still crossing over local dams and anglers are having good success catching them. Stream flows, although higher than normal, have calmed down and has made fishing much easier for anglers. There are some really bright fish out there, too.