A Half Million Trapped Fish: Return of the Sockeye
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ส.ค. 2022
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The Brewster Pool might very well be one of the largest fish traps in the world. Trapped by warm water in their natal streams hundreds of thousands of Sockeye get stuck in this large cold water pool in the upper Columbia. Over the past 10 years upper Columbia River Sockeye have staged a remarkable recovery and this fishery is getting more popular than ever.
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Every time I look at the news/reports it says how our fisheries are "never like they used to be", so seeing something positive happen for once is a nice change!
Caught my first sockeye off my kayak there yesterday morning! heading out again this evening. thanks for all your videos!
I appreciate that you are knowledgeable and educated in the field. Many Fishing TH-camrs are not.
Yup and those that spew conspiracy theories and outright lies get the most traction. Strange world.
@7:24 that one rolled right behind your kayak...I thought you were hooked up again...
Back in the day when lake washington used to open for sockeye. We slayed them with a chrome dodger with 10 inch steel leader and a single red hook.
Very interesting. Here in Alaska it’s pretty unheard of to catch sockeye trolling. You have me questioning that for sure. Great video
Very cool, I didn't realize all of those sockeye are wild, and that they stay in the Columbia to stay in cooler water.
looks like there's a boat hatch. whole damn US navy fleet pulled up
Great positive fishery! So good to see it retuning to the prime is used to be! Thanks for sharing!
The most interesting part is the pedal-powered kayak. I’d love to have one for exercise and exploration as much as for fishing.
great video, might be worth the drive for a camping trip.
You make it look so easy. Keep up the great videos.
Crazy how many people are fishing. Boats everywhere. Guess there are plenty of fish to go around. Looks like fun times.
they call it the Brewster 500
Awesome stuff! 👌
It was great to see you out there. It was a great year indeed. Even at Lake Wenatchee where they were supposed to get the escapement of 23k they had over 100k. We will be eating sockeye all winter long. Hope next year is as favorable.
The Okanagan Nation Alliance has done some amazing work restoring habitat and the hatchery program. I believe they are up to 5 million fry released per year. They are working on Chinook next, some folks are encountering landlocked ones in Okanagan Lake. Fingers crossed the good news continues and this isn't an outlier year because of cooler ocean temperatures.
I hope the weather cooled down for you. My buddy and I drove up from Central California the week of July 18th to experience the fishing at Brewster Pool and hit the hot spell. It started at 104 on Monday and was up to 108 on Wednesday. We finally figured it out on Wednesday and got limits of sockeye. I did catch one nice wild king that I had to release. Only had a three day license so left Thursday morning to drive home. It was 112 when we crossed Shasta Lake. It was a long trip but a check off my bucket list. It would have been better if the weather was cooler. It was just too hot. Lots of boats and they are out there at 0 dark thirty (over two hundred boats). 0n our last day the bite picked up after 1200 noon when most of the boats had gone in. I think the fish may not have been spooked as much. Amazing how the sockeye choose to hit a certain lure when there are hundreds going by there nose every second. They are attacking the lure not really feeding, is that correct? Is the fishing always good at Brewster pool every year? or do the runs change drastically from year to year. Over 350,000 sockeye had come through Wells Dam to date when we were fishing. It was an experience, sort of combat fishing.
Yeah Ive never found anything in there stomach ever. Not even bait.
Great video. I’m curious as to what day of the week you were out. I noticed that there didn’t seem to be as many boats on the water. I went one Sunday and was floored at the sheer number of boats out. Anyway, keep up the good work and thanks for the tips on what hooks you like for Kokanee.
Friday
I wanna go this week Saturday do u think they will still be in the trap barrel or do u think they will be going up river
They will 100% be there.
Great job. I wonder if these trolling techniques would work in the lower Columbia?
I've tried them once with no success.
Love seeing your Brewster videos Tyler. I've been twice this year for sockeye. Going to try for some Kings there on Sunday. I've noticed a distict line where the two rivers meet. Do you find that the Kings hold in the murkier/warmer water from the Okanagan or out in the colder/clearer water of the Columbia?
Last year I could only find them in the clear cold water of the mainstrem Columbia but in year's past have done better in the Okanogan outflow.
@@spiltmilt awesome thanks for the info!
Great video! Tried Baker the last couple weeks and just did Wenatchee yesterday now thinking about trying the Brewster Pool. Where is the best place to put in for kayaks?
This video covers kayak launches. There are powerboat launches in Brewster, Bridgeport, and on the Bridgeport Bar on the Wells Wildlife Area.
@@spiltmilt Sorry, I missed seeing the inserted link near the end! Thanks for replying anyway.
Perfect timing! Thinking of hitting the Brewster pool for the first time this week.
Do you aim for kings as well or just go for sockeye and sometimes they'll hit your sockeye rigs? Thanks!
You may on occasion get a King on Sockeye gear but you are way more likely to get Sockeye on King gear. If you want Kings run King lures and you will usually take home a few Sockeye
@@spiltmilt Would you run prawn spinners or cutplugs/superbaits? Thanks!
Cut plugs reign supreme here for Kings.
Tyler, not trying to cause a uproar here, just asking a question. You mentioned in the video about the runs up the Snake and they would be better if the dams were removed, WHY are not there dams on the Columbia, what is the difference of these 2 area dams. Thanks, great video as always, would love to fish for them someday but not yet geared up for them.
The Snake River warms disproportionately more than the Columbia and routinely causes substantial fish kills due to water temperatures and low oxygen. Consider the timing of Sockeye runs on the Columbia (mid-summer). The Columbia will be relatively cool compared to the Snake at those times of year. Additionally, fish passage measures on the Snake are not as well developed as on the Columbia.
@@spiltmilt Thanks for the info, something to think about, wonder why it warms more maybe not a deep or not the volume of water the Columbia has.
Yes shallower, smaller drainage basin, more southerly, and less water volume all contribute.
What eyewear are you using ? Nice salmon by the way.
Hi Tyler, can you provide any intel on how the sockeye fishing at Brewster has been recently, and how you think it will be between now and say, September 7, 2022?
Very slow. Late in the season fish get lock jaw.
Was just out there Aug 17 and 21, and not much bite. Does the bite come and go or just taper off or was I just doing something wrong? Tons of fish sitting down there.
If the water levels are low the bite will be tough
holy shite, what a load of boats!
Love salmon fishing but that looks too crowded.
Think this week would still be good? I’m new to kayak fishing and would love to get into that action
Nope it’s over
Great vid! How do you like living away from the Coast? We're thinking of moving from Vancouver to Kelowna BC(interior Okanagan area)
Mixed feelings. I love the seasonality of the interior and I honestly believe the interior in winter is beautiful with the snow rather than weeks of rain. However, I do miss easy access to chrome salmon for 9 months of the year and bottomfish. It's certainly more affordable than the coast.
@@spiltmilt That's exactly what I was thinking. I guess every move has it's sacrifices
I passed by that pool not knowing what it was coming home from a 5th wheel trip to Leavenworth. Thats alot of boats to miss! when does the season start and end for the Brewster pool?
Early July though mid to late August
@@spiltmilt
Thanks. Going to make that a stop on the next trip up to WA. Looks like some nice RV parks and plenty of guides. Thanks
Have you fished the Koocanusa reservoir in Montana for koocanee, and what did you use if so thanks
I’ve not
@spiltmilt This reservoir has a hatchery between libby dam and Canada. Is this were the koocanee will return for spawning?
@spiltmilt If you're in the area. My son and I would like to show you Libby Dam - The koocanuse Lake reservoir
When were you fishing out of curiosity? I was out on Osoyoos lake on Monday and there was a big run on there as well. The fishery opened Aug 2 and will be evaluated on the 15th to see how long it will be open. At whatever dam they count at saw upwards of 350,000 which is quite high historically. There is talk of a commercial opening of some sort for first nations. Will the fish "trapped" where you are eventually make it up this way?
Last week. We had cool weather this spring and early summer as a result the barrier didn't form and allowed the fish to move on past up to Osoyoos. Once we get the first fall rains and the water temperature drops these fish here will move on up the Okanogan to Osoyoos or points beyond to spawn.
@@spiltmilt The first Sockeye arrived at the dam between Skaha and Okanagan lake yesterday!
@@fastandfun20043 How many returning sockeye are expected to come into Okanagan Lake? I've been reading about efforts to reintroduce stocks into Okanagan Lake (fish ladder at the dam etc.) but there's not much info.
@@rogerperron6171 I haven't looked that closely.
Maybe I missed it and somebody already asked, but what do you typically troll at for your speed for sockey?
Its variable by if I am trolling against the current or with it and current varies by locations. Sometimes I am crawling upstream at less than 1 mph and other times with the current at 3 mph or more.
Would it be too late to target kings and sockeye up at Brewster?
Yea it’s over
@@spiltmilt thanks for your reply 👍🏼
Hey there, ive been thinking about heading to brewster myself. I am a little intimidated by the number of boaters and people trolling all in one spot. Could you speak to this topic, maybe about etiquette and safety?
There are troll lanes and its best to go with the flow of boats rather than cutting across them. There is no need to run your gear far back just 20-40' of line out to prevent tangles. If someone hooks a King Salmon in front of you or beside you steer clear or pull your gear up and out of the way.
Ive been to the Bonneville dam twice and seen the lampreys in the windows. Do you ever catch a fish with lamprey attached, or with lamprey marks?
I never have.
No snap weights with these Salmon? Too much of a chance of the fish getting off when you unclip the weight?
With this fishery u only need 3 or 4 oz and with larger dodgers and short setbacks almost no tangling issues.
@@spiltmilt Great point. Ty!
Do you ever fish for them just for sport.
I don't I suppose you could but I would be sure to use knotless nets, keep them wet, and barbless hooks.
It's not your dams that ruined the runs on the snake river
You made a comment about removing the snake river dams, are you a advocate for removing the dams
I believe it necessary to recover Snake River Sockeye
Does it really surprise anyone that the one species we don’t pay attention to is thriving?
Hmmmm....if that's what you took away from this then you are mistaken. There has been a tremendous amount of effort, energy, and money spent restoring this species including the use of hatcheries.
Wait Salmon can't return on the Columbia! Dams are what kill fish.... Meanwhile my home river "with no dams" has record low returns consistently year after year... Weird.....
Great video btw!!