For those of you Lake Wenatchee sockeye fishing aficionados, here is a summary of the season and a few lessons learned.
The estimate for the entire 2010 sockeye season (Aug. 1-3, August 7-31) is 2914 anglers fished 10,376 hours (mean angler day = 3.6 hrs.) and harvested 4,129 sockeye. Hatchery (PUD) origin fish made up about 10% of the harvest. It is estimated that 154 bull trout were caught and released. Using a 5% hooking mortality anglers probably killed 7.7 bull trout or (8) bull trout. Data from WDFW fisheries biologist Art Viola.
Each season is different and here are some of the lessons learned from this past season.
1. Fishing gear. I tried them all, the new spinner that worked so well at Brewster, the hot pink hoochie, and black and red hook. I found that the best by far (2:1 or better) was bare red hooks. I also really endorse the use of 2 hooks as the second hook is a big help in preventing loosing fish at the boat when they start to roll in the water.
2. Sockeye can go off the bite. After the end of the first 3 day season, it was really slow for several days. I suspect that this is the effect of the strong wind action that we experienced.
3. This lake can be a very dangerous lake during high wind conditions. With all the small boats involved in the fishery, people need to observe safety when the wind is blowing hard. This should be common sense, but we nearly lost a couple of anglers this year.
4. This year fishing deeper was definitely an advantage. The normal 30-35 ft. depth was simply not as productive. I ran our 3 rods at 50/55/60 ft.
5. Sockeye are schooling fish and continue to move. Don’t get hung up on your old favorite spot or where it was good yesterday. Move if you see fish or fish being caught. This is especially important if you don’t have a depth finder. Another good rule, if you get a fish, leave the other rods fishing as you will often hook up a second fish and then go right back to the spot that you originally hooked up. Occasionally I was successful by putting my motor into neutral when we had a fish on and I immediately hooked a second fish.
6. Fishing past 10:30 AM fishing really become much less productive. The sun is high which drive the fish deeper and seems to put them off the bite. I also notice that different than past years the evening fishing was very slow.
7. Don’t forget that the slower the better rule. Rowers will often do better than power boats because the power boats can’t slow down enough. Drag a bucket if you need to but go slow.
8. The hatchery fish are becoming a bigger component of the catch and the fish checkers noticed that they arrived later and were very bright towards the end of the season.
9. Don’t forget that the enforcement is generally always present and it is their job to protect the resource and make sure that everyone obeys the law.
10..Last and most important, we are blessed to have this fishery and it is extremely unusual to have it open 3 years in a row. We must always put the conservation of the fish first. If we can continue to make this a requirement and if mother nature treats us well (no floods), we will always have sockeye in Lake Wenatchee.
Thanks Rollie Schmitten
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Good comments. I would like to know more about the Bull Trout story as I really wonder who would report catching one and how the estimate was determined. In my opinion the “bull”-trout hypersensitivity keeps the lake from being a better year ’round fishery.
I would add to comment #5 that I caught fish much farther east this year than in past years. I noticed many boats fishing only half way “up” the lake from the State Park. I landed two sockeye well east of the white boat house with the red roof . Also for the first time I saw a fish with a punched tail caught (and released).
Thanks for the review and suggestions Rollie.
I wanted to echo the comment about “more east” on the lake….we also had very good success near the white boathouse. Much different than in previous yrs.
Time to get ready and geared up for Sockeye. As of yesterday the sockeye count over Bonneville was more than 209,000. Saturday may have been the peak for sockeye but we are well on the way to 300,000 fish. Typically 9% to 14% of the fish counted at Bonneville go over the Tumwater, which is what the State uses to determine a season. Even at the low end, we should have close to 30,000 fish in the lake this year. That should be well over the escapement goal which I believe is 22,000 fish. There is talk that a larger portion of fish than normal are going to the Okanogan (due to restoration efforts) but there still should be enough for us. It seems ocean survivability is good as several species are doing well this year.
Celebrating 500,000! Sockeye over Bonneville dam yesterday. Dare we hope for 45,000 up our way this year?
Keeping my fingers crossed! The counts are huge, and I hear the Sockeye are running bigger this year as well. We gotta get at least 30,000 in the lake!
The fish biologist told me last year that Lake Wenatchee sockeye are usually bigger than Okanogan because they are 4 year old fish while the upper river fish are 3 years old. As a consequence, “ours” tend to be more likely to be netted in the tribal fisheries. Hearing that the sample catches are large fish is extra encouraging. Are they more likely to be headed our way?
Time for my annual rant about no fish counts posted regarding Tumwater Dam. It’s July 17 and DART is not showing any counts for the month of July in the Sockeye column. It happens every year and when the powers that be decide what THEY want to happen, they announce it followed by posting the actual data after its too late to argue.
I agree joelcarlson. Who do we email/call?
Anyone know what all the “chopper” is about? I noticed it flying at 0550 yesterday. Are they maybe looking for someone?
Has anyone kayaked the White River yet? My friend is a beginner and I do not want to take her if it is challenging . Thanks
I had a dream last night I was sockeye fishing off the mouth of the Little Wenatchee. With 500k+ sockeye over Bonneville, that’s all the science I need. Let’s do this thing!
help and fish are on the way! The PUD is taking over fish counting at Tumwater. For those of you who watch DART (http://www.cbr.washington.edu/dart/adult.html) there are no sockeye numbers posted yet this year. The WDFW has a research project at Tumwater that severely restricts the number of fish that can pass while the research is being conducted. That can be 3 days a week. On the other days the fish ladder is open but the counting has been suspect. The PUD is going to count on the non-research days and the numbers should be posted soon. That being said, the experts believe the fish won’t really start coming up the Wenatchee until the flows diminish. The river flow at Plain is still around 5,ooo CF and needs to drop to 1-2,ooo before the fish will “flow” in numbers. That’s looking like week 1 or 2 of August. The very good news is that fish can be seen pooling up at the Sleepy Hollow Bridge in large numbers.
Well as of 6/23/2012, the last day reported on dart, the difference between Rock Island and Rocky Reach is 54,354!!! So, even if that is off by 25% we should still be in for a GREAT run to Lake Wenatchee!!! Then again they always find some way to screw us….water is too warm, too cold, too high, too low….. From what I have gathered and watched with my own eyes, the problem is with the counters at the dam. I have posted about these issues before. Hopefully we can get some people up there counting that actually care about fishery and the sportsman!
Stopped in at the dam today around 3PM….no one there counting fish, ladder shut down, and the sockeye were absolutely stacked up right in front of the door…….SO much for the fish all holding in the lower river!!!!
Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll open the fishery once they know there are enough fish, even if numbers in the lake are still low. Those early season fish are definitely the best.
I want to believe they are counting the fish because they have video counting equipment. What frustrates me is the numbers are not posted for public view. Later WDFW can claim not enough fish have passed to open a season and then revise the numbers later that show there were more than enough fish. The PUD is now involved in counting and we can hope they will be better at posting the numbers for all to see.
The squeaky wheel gets greased!
WDFW FISHING RULE CHANGE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov
August 1, 2012
Lake Wenatchee sockeye fishery opens Aug. 4
Action: Lake Wenatchee opens for sockeye salmon fishing.
Effective date: One hour before official sunrise Aug. 4 through Aug. 31, 2012.
Species affected: Sockeye salmon.
Daily limit: The daily limit per angler is three sockeye, 12 inches in length or greater.
Location: Lake Wenatchee (Chelan Co.).
Reason for action: More than 30,000 fish are expected to migrate past Tumwater Dam on the Wenatchee River. At least 7,000 fish are estimated to be available for harvest above the natural spawning escapement goal of 23,000 fish.
Other information: Selective gear rules are in effect (single barbless lures or flies, no bait or scent allowed, knotless nets required). Bull trout, steelhead, and chinook salmon must be released unharmed without removing the fish from the water. Two-pole endorsement is not valid for this fishery. A night closure will be in effect. Legal angling hours are one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. Fishers must have a current Washington fishing license as well as a Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement (CRSSE).
NOTE: The Lake Wenatchee sockeye fishery may be closed on short notice depending on participation and catch rates. Anglers are advised to check the fishing hotline at 360-902-2500 or WDFW’s website daily.
Important angler note: All sockeye with a floy (anchor) tag attached and/or one or more round ¼ inch in diameter holes punched in the caudal (tail) fin must be released. These fish are essential to ongoing studies being conducted by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Information contact: Travis Maitland, District 7 fish biologist, (509) 665-3337 (Wenatchee District Office); Jeff Korth, Region 2 Fish Program manager (509) 754-4624.
Fishers must have a current Washington fishing license, appropriate to the fishery. Check the WDFW “Fishing in Washington” rules pamphlet for details on fishing seasons and regulations. Fishing rules are subject to change. Check the WDFW Fishing hotline for the latest rule information at (360) 902-2500, press 2 for recreational rules. For the Shellfish Rule Change hotline call (360)796-3215 or toll free 1-866-880-5431.
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