The Columbia River in north-central Washington isn’t your typical salmon fishing location. This area of the state is a land of tough forested tops and vast fruit orchards, of sagebrush-steppe and also reddish-orange volcanic scablands where bighorn lamb wander and gold eagles rise. And also it’s residence to the famous summer Chinook fishery that starts July 1 near the visitor community of Chelan Falls.
Like various other prominent salmon fisheries in the state the Chelan Falls area can get active, particularly on weekends and Fridays. However you can still rack up a few prime areas. For a lot of anglers the most effective place is the Lake Pateros area of the reservoir, likewise called the Brewster Swimming pool. This is where the cold, freshwater from Lake Chelan spurt in as well as combines with the warmer Columbia water, offering a prime holding area for spawning Chinook.
You can target both kings and sockeye at this area. As well as it is among minority locations where you can catch both species at the same time. The location is likewise fantastic for families because it’s an easy fishery for novices, as well as those wanting to prevent the groups of other more popular fisheries.
There’s a decent possibility that this year will certainly see a record return of adult Chinook to the Columbia River mouth, with preseason projections calling for 57,500 salmon, up from in 2014’s quote of 56,800 fish. That’s good news for fishermens who largely target kings, as the lake-run fish will likely provide more chances for anglers.
For those targeting sockeye, there will certainly be a home window of chance Aug. 4-7, with an opening from the location listed below the Beebe Bridge to the Elliott Bay Marina breakwater. It can be a challenge to discover fish at the lower end of this location as a result of its superficial water, but some hotspots consist of the Duwamish brewster pool chinook fishing Head Pen; the eastern and also west rivers in front of Todd Shipyard; the south and also north waters around Salty’s Restaurant; both the Sekiu as well as Kydaka locations; Slip Factor Buoy; Mussolini Rock and also Little Mussolini Rock; Slide and Coal Mines locations; and Pillar Factor.
The sockeye in this field tend to be larger than those more upstream in the Hanford Reach. You’ll need to use a smaller lure than you would in the top reaches, with 3.5-inch plugs being a common dimension. You can additionally troll this section of the storage tank, with several fishermens utilizing downriggers outfitted with flasher and a range of spoons or plugs. A couple of favored sockeye attractions consist of the Moose Male, the Red and White Rewriter as well as the Silver Frog.