The Fishin' Magician: Summer of chinook and sockeye

Summer-run Chinook are starting to make their way up the Columbia River to the Wenatchee area. There are just a few hundred over Rock Island Dam, but they are passing over Bonneville at a rate of almost 2,500 a day. The numbers over Bonneville will jump even higher soon.

Sockeye numbers peaked at over 22,000 over Bonneville one day last week, and these numbers will also take a dramatic turn to even more fish per day sometime very soon. It won't be long before the summer-run Chinook and sockeye are pouring into the Wenatchee area, and that's good news for those who plan to fish in the first annual CCA Salmon Derby on July 13 through July 15. There should be plenty of fish in our area for the derby and fishing should be very good.

In the mean time, anglers should know that conditions have improved for the special fishery below Chief Joseph Dam, and better catches of triploid rainbow are being reported. I have also learned that good catches of triploids have been taken at the upper net pens on Rufus Woods Reservoir. Also, fishing continues to be excellent for kokanee at Lake Chelan.