Osoyoos Lake Sockeye 2020

Usually last week of July and fishery opens for 2 weeks, possible reassessment as @kingblazer84 says.

A little perspective on the indigenous fishery. The restoration of this fishery is very much an initiative of the Okanagan Nation. They found the US funding partners to do the work that brought this run back from fewer than 5000 fish in the mid 90s to a return of half a million in 2014. They are working for long term stability of a critical food and cultural resource and have the educated people needed to make good decisions. In low return years like 2017 and 2019 they voluntarily elected not to fish commercially. It's the ONA who kept agitating for reopening of passage into Okanagan lake. They do the research in the field and generally walk the walk.

A small commercial operation that puts revenue into their social programs is fine with me. This isnt nets across the Fraser and ads on craigslist for illegal fish. There would be no fishing opportunity for any of us without their hard work.[/QUOTE

well said sir!
 
The neat thing about this fishery is that recreational anglers, once their limit is reached, usually before 10:00 am, can continue to fish and retain Sockeye as long as any fish over your limit is dropped of with the OK Nation. I am not sure the location, but this allows for a whole morning outing with friends and family instead of the old ‘ I drove two hours, limited out in 30 minutes, and now what am I going to do,’ scenario. Knowing that catch and release is not good for Sockeye, this measure is a win win for all! Well done Syilx people!
 
heard from a little birdy who has first hand knowledge of the fishery says that the FN will be taking their cut then shutting it down and not allowing a rec fishery anytime soon if ever again..
 
heard from a little birdy who has first hand knowledge of the fishery says that the FN will be taking their cut then shutting it down and not allowing a rec fishery anytime soon if ever again..

They can’t do their commercial fishing if they don’t have a rec opening. It’s under the TAC agreement
 
With the amount of fish about to dump into that lake, I don’t think it’s gonna matter. 76000 over wells as of 3 days ago. The guys in the states are saying the fish are flying through due to the cold water temps. The 5000 or so fish that the rec guys Might take is just a drop in the bucket. I’ve seen some pics from the FN guys catching them already in the Okanagan river and the fish are bright as can be.
 
Water temps are low for time of year so you'd expect them to run right through to Skaha then fall back to Osoyoos when things heat up. That's what we've seen in the past but nothing has been normal in 2020 so far. As of yesterday Bonneville had seen 336K and 121K at Wells. Also a respectable 32,000 chinook at Wells already and more on the way - could be double that by the time the run settles out.
 
Back
Top