Okanagan sockeye 2024
- Thread starter sly_karma
- Start date
kingblazer84
Crew Member
the US guys get them every year, we will be lucky to get them again in another 5 years.. the natives will get them though its their "right" lol
sly_karma
Crew Member
Easy there big fella. They haven't yet announced if they'll fish. Some years they decline altogether if abundance is low.
Fisher_dude
Crew Member
I know the food fishery is going on for the natives. With 750k+ over bonneville and 520k through rocky reach, i foresee an opening but probably not till the 2nd week of august.
Corey_lax
Crew Member
I didn’t see the commercial boat out this week while I was up there. Not sure how many actually made it to osoyoos. A nice sized bass passed through my legs at the beach though lol.
It’s cooling down and maybe some rain coming so maybe the fish can make it up. It’s probably a hay day down south
It’s cooling down and maybe some rain coming so maybe the fish can make it up. It’s probably a hay day down south
Rockin Johnny
Active Member
I just spoke with the ex DFO area chief and he said.
“They are all sitting in Wells Pool likely until September so may not be an opening here despite the record return of almost 800k”
Sounds like she’s all weather dependent at this point. It’s cooler this week but then high 30’s again next week. Looks like it could be another year of canning springs again…..
“They are all sitting in Wells Pool likely until September so may not be an opening here despite the record return of almost 800k”
Sounds like she’s all weather dependent at this point. It’s cooler this week but then high 30’s again next week. Looks like it could be another year of canning springs again…..
sly_karma
Crew Member
Yep this is the same story I'm getting. There are some sockeye in Skaha already, the early returners that headed straight up before things got hot.I just spoke with the ex DFO area chief and he said.
“They are all sitting in Wells Pool likely until September so may not be an opening here despite the record return of almost 800k”
Sounds like she’s all weather dependent at this point. It’s cooler this week but then high 30’s again next week. Looks like it could be another year of canning springs again…..
Caught 6 in Skaha. At depths from 35 to 60 feet hitting 4 different Apexes. DFO will have a hard time convincing me there aren’t enough fish in Osoyoos to open a sport fishery. Nights are cold. Top water in Skaha is 67.3 at 530 in the morning. I would imagine the channel is a little cooler.
Rockin Johnny
Active Member
Well there are definitely fish here, that is not the question - it’s how many are in good enough shape to reproduce and, in turn, sustain the system for our future. It’s not only DFO in the equation, it’s the US, ONA and DFO that have to all agree on decisions made (which isn’t easy). The spawning grounds can only handle (I believe) 80,000 fish, then any more fish returning is an excess to the system. Thats when we get to slay the extra fish, if there is enough of an excess of fish returning. They come from the Columbia, about a 1000km swim! And the fish are monitored/counted as they pass through areas like dams through the US and Canada. Further, the system needs a minimum of 30,000 in good enough shape to spawn to sustain the system, and in turn maintain the rec fishery for years to come. Through their monitoring (as mentioned above) they have to decide whether or not there are 30,000 plus fish strong enough to live through the spawning process before they die. DFO (and other stakeholders) WANT there to be a fishery for everyone, that’s kinda how they make their money….
Catching and releasing or even getting them up to the surface (they can’t survive the temperature differences in the thermocline of the water) reduces their chances of making it to spawn by 80-90%, which also has to be considered when opening a rec fishery. Hence poaching them is probably not something you want to brag about on here or I guess to anyone who likes fishing for sockeye
You’re calling me a poacher? Released every fish I caught, including the 4 Kokanee and 1 rainbow that day as well. I follow the fish every year from the start of the run up the Columbia on the Washington State Dart website so I know exactly how many fish there are. If conservation is worried about someone hooking a salmon in Canada then they should completely shut down all fishing from Osoyoos to Okanagan Lake. Apparently we are still allowed to fish for big rainbows in Skaha. If you’ve heard otherwise, Johnny, let me know.
Rockin Johnny
Active Member
You’re right- I shouldn’t jump to conclusions and start with saying they’re being poached by you. I assumed that you were targeting them, from the way your post read. My experience is they typically only bite little pink hoochies or small pink apexes behind flashers. Thanks for the clarification that you weren’t targeting them; I’m glad that’s not the case. I see a lot of guys targeting them around here, which is sad to see. Conservation has been out fining people $1200 for salmon fishing lately. The numbers reflected in the US don’t necessarily reflect what we’ll end up with here in Canada, since they often hold in the US with warm water temps. This should have been a record year for us at 850,000 fish en route. Environmental factors, among others, determine how many fish actually return to our Canadian systems.
sly_karma
Crew Member
Easy to see sockeye stacked up on the sonar in Skaha this morning. Cooler weather has let them be more active, we still got some hits despite trolling considerably faster and shallower than they generally like. The fish we saw were far from silver, you'd be mad to want to take any.
We saw sockeye on the surface of Skaha this weekend, their heads and half their bodies out of the water. Some serious spawners with hooked jaws and red skin. Others are as green and silver as the day they left salt water. Thinking the good looking ones might be new arrivals from Brewster. Huge schools at 60 to 80 feet, some as shallow as 30. Interesting year for sure. With the cooler water, surface temps about 68f in the morning, there’s a schwack of them making their way in to Skaha. What was the number, Johnny, 80,000??? Any more is excess? I’d bet there’s more than that in Skaha already. Should be a good egg and meat harvest for ONA. At 55 bucks a fish from Safeway, ouch. Might need to get invited to one of my indigenous buddies’ place for dinner.
Rockin Johnny
Active Member
Agreed, I was out on Osoyoos lake the other day and saw them stacked out there, like waaayyyy more marks than normal that's for sure. What is strange is the commercial seiner is just sitting on the hook and has only been out a couple of times this summer...
I thought they would of opened for labour day weekend at least.
I thought they would of opened for labour day weekend at least.
sly_karma
Crew Member
I made some good connections with fisheries people from ONA a decade ago when working with them to build the Penticton sockeye hatchery. I found them to be educated and dedicated, very passionate about restoring the salmon runs into the Okanagan. They see a ton of data due to close ties with the biologists working for their US hydro power funding partners. They absolutely know how much they've gained since the near extinction of the run in the 90s, and don't take it for granted. Each season starts with commercial and sport openings being viewed as To Be Confirmed, based on return data.
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