Lake Washington Sockeye Counts at 54K Fish

Granted this is a very positive unexpected early start to the run but 350K is needed for a season... That being said, I would love to break in my kayak on some Sockeye in lake Washington!

http://nwsportsmanmag.com/editors-blog/sockeye-count-at-lake-washington-hits-5-digits-two-days-in-a-row/

If you want to help the sockeye run, catch every bass and trout in lake WA that you can, so they eat fewer fry.

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Are Lake Washington reds any larger than the runts in the Columbia?

Usually they are pretty small but we just processed the first 250 fish this year and they are much larger than normal. Healthy looking fish!

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Usually they are pretty small but we just processed the first 250 fish this year and they are much larger than normal. Healthy looking fish!

Good to hear.  I'll keep watching the counts and WDFW. 

I was down at the locks yesterday and they are stacked up in there. You never really know how the final number will pay out but we can hope.

If your fishing Lake Washington right now be careful how you fish, bare hooks or small hootchies will probably pick up sockeye right now, even larger lures like Brad's cut plug or Apex might get them.

Brad was out there Sunday and got stopped by an unmarked Grady White with WDFW officer onboard. Make sure you can't be perceived as targeting sockeye. Until it's open then it is an all out blood bath.

If you want to help the sockeye run, catch every bass and trout in lake WA that you can, so they eat fewer fry.

I'm taking that as a challenge!

Until it's open then it is an all out blood bath.

It's cool that guys in large lakes can do well when the fish aren't stacked up as they would be in a river.  Blood Bath made me think of the Russian on the Kenai.

Do they actually bite the little red hook or are they attracted to the dodger and get flossed by the leader as they come close.  I'd love to see the series of events leading to a hookup.  Hopefully with all the underwater cameras in use someone will YouTube it.

Until it's open then it is an all out blood bath.

It's cool that guys in large lakes can do well when the fish aren't stacked up as they would be in a river.  Blood Bath made me think of the Russian on the Kenai.

Do they actually bite the little red hook or are they attracted to the dodger and get flossed by the leader as they come close.  I'd love to see the series of events leading to a hookup.  Hopefully with all the underwater cameras in use someone will YouTube it.

Sockeye school up are almost too easy to catch, so once you find the school you'll likely get one each pass thru it. Trick is finding the school. I put the kayak on the roof, drive to a nice view point on the lake with my coffee and watch the boats fish. When I see all of them racing to one location I drive over there, find a launch and go out and get my fish. Avoiding the 3 hour wait at the launch ramp is just icing on the cake.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/counts/sockeye/

I was down looking today. The crowds of people and fish were pretty thick. Also saw one fish that might have been a king. Significantly larger than all the other sockeye and it may have just been a very large sockeye. All I got was a very quick glimpse so am not sure what I saw....
 

Until it's open then it is an all out blood bath.

It's cool that guys in large lakes can do well when the fish aren't stacked up as they would be in a river.  Blood Bath made me think of the Russian on the Kenai.

Do they actually bite the little red hook or are they attracted to the dodger and get flossed by the leader as they come close.  I'd love to see the series of events leading to a hookup.  Hopefully with all the underwater cameras in use someone will YouTube it.

I've seen video in which the sockeye were actually attacking the tail of the dodger and then proceeding to get flossed.  Although I'm not able to find the video right now.

-Allen

When would they likely make a call on having a season? What is the technique for catching them from a kayak?

What is the technique for catching them from a kayak?

15-60 feet deep.....super slow troll....Silver dodger...short leader (12-14 in.)...small pink hootchie or double red hooks.....FISH ON!!!

When would they likely make a call on having a season? What is the technique for catching them from a kayak?

+1 on the technique

WDFW will announce a total return number that needs to be reached for a season. If I remember correctly it was 350k last time we got a season, then we got 2 days with 2 fish per day. A second bump in the returns that year pushed it past 450k and we got 4 more days. Fisherman went nuts for the first 2 days, then interest fell off considerably.

I fished for them back on the 2000 season. Bare hooks on dodgers. Tasty fish. Lots of boats. Nice thing with a kayak is you can skip the lines. Maybe even put in on the cedar river at the mouth?