When are they going to announce a Sockeye Opening for the Upper Columbia & Brewster?

Short Answer:  Sometime between tomorrow and early next week.

Long Answer:

The Sockeye salmon we are catching and releasing now and hoping to keep in the coming days and weeks are bound for Lake Osoyoos in the Okanogan.

Last year we had a stellar return of Sockeye but only 37,624 of the fish made it back to lake Osoyoos and only about 10,000 reached their spawning grounds on the upper Okanogan River.  And that is from a huge return that entered the Columbia of 512,000 fish!  The high water temperatures in the Okanogan are to blame for the death of almost 170,000 Sockeye Salmon that passed Wells Dam but never made it home.

As a result of this dismal return the pre-season forecast for 2016 was very low around 101,000 sockeye.  As of July 5th there have been 312,422 sockeye over Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and 78,131 have made it over Wells Dam on the upper river.

The popular Brewster Pool fishing area is just south of the Wells Dam on the Columbia River.

As of last Thursday they have counted 5,000 Sockeye as returning to their spawning grounds and they want to see at least 60,000 before they open the upper Columbia River to Sockeye Sport Fishing.  As fisheries biologists tally up the Friday-Sunday fish counts that 5,000 number could be very close to reaching the 60,000 goal.

The fisheries biologists are hopeful that the Brewster Pool and upriver destinations will open for Sockeye before this coming weekend but at the latest it will be early next week.

If you have a sockeye trip scheduled for this week or weekend you are welcomed to come and fish for a 2 hatchery king salmon limit + 2 jacks and release lots and lots of native kings and sockeye salmon during your trip.

Since July 1st, everyone who has fished has had a terrific time with 20+ hookups per person per day.

You can book a half day or full day trip now through July for Kings and/or Sockeye.  Half day trips until Sockeye opens will be for King Salmon and after Sockeye opens half day trips are for Sockeye only and full day trips are for Kings and Sockeye.  All trips are scheduled for Brewster.

Stay tuned for updates - feel free to call/txt/email.  If you want to reschedule a Sockeye date you have booked for between now and early next week please email with alternate dates you can fish.  If you don't have a Sockeye trip booked yet please try to book one soon because most dates through the 20th are full but we may send another guide over to help with morning trips on the weekends starting next weekend to get everyone accommodated.

Thank you for your calls/emails/questions - more coming soon!

Jessica - 253-389-0359

Columbia River Sockeye Salmon

Columbia River Sockeye Fishing Update June 28, 2016

The last two years you have enjoyed very good fishing for Sockeye Salmon as a result of the strong runs we had in 2014 and 2015.  In 2015 there was an actual return of 512,500 Sockeye to the Columbia River.  Due to warm water temperatures there was a high mortality rate before these fish reached their spawning grounds.  As a result, the expected return for 2016 was only 101,600 fish.  Much to our and everyone else's surprise, including WDFW fish biologists, as of June 28th there are 255,498 Sockeye Salmon over Bonneville dam so far.  

Before the fish arrived the season for Sockeye was not likely to happen.  June 3rd WDFW sent out a notice closing Sockeye Salmon in the Hanford Reach area.  They must not have been engaged in the same Sockeye Dance we were here because as we watched 10s then 100s and 1000s of Sockeye cross over Bonneville Dam in early June we KNEW that this was going to be a great Sockeye year!

Effective Today WDFW re-opened Sockeye fishing from the HWY bridge at Pasco all the way up to Priest Rapids Dam for 3 Sockeye.  WDFW is being very conservative at the moment because they fear warm weather in the coming days will bring water temperatures up and may result in more Sockeye to die off before reaching their spawning grounds.

The big question on all of our minds is WHEN ARE THEY OPENING BREWSTER FOR SOCKEYE??  The director of WDFW, Jim Unsworth, was on NW WildCountry Radio Saturday morning saying that they definitely WILL open the upper Columbia River for Sockeye it is just a matter of when they will be confident enough that escapement numbers will be reached.  

As of today, June 28th, 13,068 Sockeye have passed Wells Dam which is above Brewster and they are headed for Lake Osoyoos in the Okanogan.  The management goal for Sockeye in the upper Columbia is only 65,000 fish over Priest Rapids Dam and as of today their are 77,900 Sockeye well over the escapement goal.

At the moment the Brewster Pool is open for King Salmon retention.  The summer return has been very good this year with 69,451 Summer Chinook over Bonneville so far and thousands more crossing each day.  The limit is 2 adult king salmon now through August.  There are several places to fish within 1/2 hour of Brewster for King Salmon that are very productive based on the time of day.  

If you have a Sockeye trip planned for July 1st through July 5th or 6th you can reschedule for Sockeye if they do not open Sockeye before your trip or you can fish for King Salmon for the same discounted rate you booked your Sockeye trip at.

We expect the WDFW to announce a Sockeye Season for the Brewster Pool any day!  We will update everyone as soon as we hear and look forward to seeing you all at Brewster in July for Sockeye!

Book a King or Sockeye Salmon Trip Online 24/7 https://fishwaterswest.rezdy.com/  txt: 253-389-0359

Columbia River Sockeye Fishing