Wanapum sockeye

[metlhead]

Trolled kokanee gear, no weight back and forth along the east wall. Solid fish all the way to I90. Just porpoising.

[bigdub257]

Perplexing that they'll bite pretty well below the dam but not above and then bite again below the other dams they encounter. Gets a guy thinking about trying some oddball offerings to entice them. 

[pickardjw]

Too windy above the dam for my little boat this morning. Huge bummer. Bailed down to Ringold and struck out again. Sockeye in the Reach might just elude me until I can get a seat with someone that knows what they’re doing.

[WSU]

Never been there but I’d bet money they are moving fast above the dam, which is why they are purposing all over and not biting.

[metlhead]

They seem to be moving less than walking speed. Noticed years back that silver and king jacks in the river would bite lite like crazy when tide was going out. When it stopped and came in they would swim in circles avoiding everything. Same with shad. Really liked current

[Machias]

Almost 700K sockeye so far!!  They were projecting a banner year at just over 400K.  Anyone know what the record is?

[Machias]

Never mind, I found it, 2022 had 663,253 sockeye over the Bonneville Dam.  We are at 682K.  Smashing the record this year!!

[MeepDog]

Too windy above the dam for my little boat this morning. Huge bummer. Bailed down to Ringold and struck out again. Sockeye in the Reach might just elude me until I can get a seat with someone that knows what they’re doing.

I thought it was as simple as anchor in 14 feet of water by the edge until I had a guy try to explain flow rates and bottom contour based on water level. It's the strangest thing in the reach. Youll see a pocket where the sockeye are constantly surfacing and piled up in the eddies just out of the current. If you try to fish that same pocket the conventional way at anchor with shrimp and dodgers youre wasting your time. I'd love to understand why they just wont hit anything when theyre all bunched up. The dodgers dont even function right in the slack current and if you troll they still dont want it. If theres a way to get the fish in that scenario to bite, I would love to know it.

[bigdub257]

Too windy above the dam for my little boat this morning. Huge bummer. Bailed down to Ringold and struck out again. Sockeye in the Reach might just elude me until I can get a seat with someone that knows what they’re doing.

I thought it was as simple as anchor in 14 feet of water by the edge until I had a guy try to explain flow rates and bottom contour based on water level. It's the strangest thing in the reach. Youll see a pocket where the sockeye are constantly surfacing and piled up in the eddies just out of the current. If you try to fish that same pocket the conventional way at anchor with shrimp and dodgers youre wasting your time. I'd love to understand why they just wont hit anything when theyre all bunched up. The dodgers dont even function right in the slack current and if you troll they still dont want it. If theres a way to get the fish in that scenario to bite, I would love to know it.

I'm assuming you were above the dam?  Hoping to try over there next week and see if I can figure it out myself.  I'm totally unfamiliar with the water and currents below the dam, but may give that a try if it's not too crazy! 

[RockChuck]

I fished below wanapum Sunday 4 hrs with no bites.. it was pretty slow, seen a few caught but not like normal wanapum action, maybe I  was doing something wrong or just unlucky!

[Machias]

697707  Going to be well over 700K