sly_karma
Crew Member
Return numbers look promising so far, decent chance there will be a sport opening for Osoyoos Lake sockeye this August. 12-15,000 per day being counted at Bonneville at present, and the majority of these are Canada-bound. Seems like the run is slightly later than usual, normally it has peaked by July 1. You can follow the counts at http://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_Adults.htm. Wells Dam is the last count point before the Okanagan River. Fisheries notice for this opening - if it happens - will be 3rd or 4th week of July.
Could be interesting if water temps stay low like they are now, the fish may well run directly up to Skaha rather than holding in Brewster Pool or Osoyoos Lake. To balance that, stream flows are still at max in the Okanagan River and likely to stay that way for a few more weeks to get the lake back below full pool again. The lake looked like it was cresting in the second week of June, but widespread rainfall has caused it to kick upward again. Levels are holding steady now and should start to come down by the weekend. Still a foot above full pool and there are lots of crawl spaces around the place pumping out water.
Could be interesting if water temps stay low like they are now, the fish may well run directly up to Skaha rather than holding in Brewster Pool or Osoyoos Lake. To balance that, stream flows are still at max in the Okanagan River and likely to stay that way for a few more weeks to get the lake back below full pool again. The lake looked like it was cresting in the second week of June, but widespread rainfall has caused it to kick upward again. Levels are holding steady now and should start to come down by the weekend. Still a foot above full pool and there are lots of crawl spaces around the place pumping out water.