Last day for Lake Wenatchee sockeye

YAKIMA, Wash. — The über-popular sockeye fishery at Lake Wenatchee will end Tuesday evening, one hour after sunset, meaning it will have lasted only one week since its Aug. 5 opening.

The intense angling pressure since the opening has resulted in an estimated 2,040 sockeye being taken from the lake, where fisheries managers require about 23,000 sockeye to meet escapement goals and ensure the lake’s sockeye population for the future. Although about 30,000 sockeye are believed to be headed toward the lake, managers believe high water temperatures in the river system has resulted in high mortality — “both substantial and unexpected,” according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife — within the run.

Through last weekend barely more than 15,000 fish had actually made it through Tumwater Dum, the last place they are counted before reaching the lake.

So if you want to experience the feeling of catching a big, beautiful (and tasty) sockeye in a lake fishery that has excited the state’s angling public for very good reason, Tuesday is your last day. Good luck coming up with a believable excuse to get out of work.

– Scott Sandsberry