Baker Lake Sockeye
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:02 am
The following is from a WDFW News Release dated July 16th. It should be an interesting fishery. We visited the PSE collection facility on Sunday afternoon and the fish they are trucking from the Baker river collection facility to Baker Lake are very bright and I would say 3 to 7 or 8 pounds.
For the first time, Baker Lake
will open for sockeye fishing
OLYMPIA - For the first time, anglers will be able to fish for sockeye salmon in Baker Lake, where the fish are returning in significantly higher numbers than expected. From July 22 until further notice, anglers can retain up to two adult sockeye salmon that exceed 18 inches in length from Baker Dam upstream to the mouth of the Baker River. All other salmon must be released, and no fishing will be allowed between the dam and the log boom at the lower end of the lake. More than 10,000 sockeye have returned to hatchery facilities and artificial spawning beaches on the lake, exceeding this year’s 6,300-fish escapement goal, said Brett Barkdull, a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
"People have been waiting a long time to be able to fish for sockeye salmon in Baker Lake," Barkdull said. "This year’s run isn’t huge by historical standards, but we’ve exceeded our goals for both hatchery-reared sockeye and naturally spawning fish needed for production." Harvest opportunities for returning fish will be shared by recreational and tribal fisheries, he said. Barkdull said improving ocean conditions have helped to boost survival rates for young sockeye returning to the watershed. Meanwhile, the installation of a juvenile-collection facility at the upper Baker Dam has improved the transfer of out-migrating smolts downstream to Puget Sound, he said. But the biggest boon to area sockeye fishing may be the completion of a new hatchery facility on Baker Lake, Barkdull said. Starting next year, smolt production in the watershed is expected to increase significantly at the new facility built by Puget Sound Energy as part of a 2008 hydroelectric licensing agreement. "We hope to eventually produce enough sockeye fry to bring 75,000 adult fish back to the watershed," Barkdull said. "We’ve been working toward that goal for a long time and we know what it would mean for sockeye fishing in the watershed."
For the first time, Baker Lake
will open for sockeye fishing
OLYMPIA - For the first time, anglers will be able to fish for sockeye salmon in Baker Lake, where the fish are returning in significantly higher numbers than expected. From July 22 until further notice, anglers can retain up to two adult sockeye salmon that exceed 18 inches in length from Baker Dam upstream to the mouth of the Baker River. All other salmon must be released, and no fishing will be allowed between the dam and the log boom at the lower end of the lake. More than 10,000 sockeye have returned to hatchery facilities and artificial spawning beaches on the lake, exceeding this year’s 6,300-fish escapement goal, said Brett Barkdull, a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
"People have been waiting a long time to be able to fish for sockeye salmon in Baker Lake," Barkdull said. "This year’s run isn’t huge by historical standards, but we’ve exceeded our goals for both hatchery-reared sockeye and naturally spawning fish needed for production." Harvest opportunities for returning fish will be shared by recreational and tribal fisheries, he said. Barkdull said improving ocean conditions have helped to boost survival rates for young sockeye returning to the watershed. Meanwhile, the installation of a juvenile-collection facility at the upper Baker Dam has improved the transfer of out-migrating smolts downstream to Puget Sound, he said. But the biggest boon to area sockeye fishing may be the completion of a new hatchery facility on Baker Lake, Barkdull said. Starting next year, smolt production in the watershed is expected to increase significantly at the new facility built by Puget Sound Energy as part of a 2008 hydroelectric licensing agreement. "We hope to eventually produce enough sockeye fry to bring 75,000 adult fish back to the watershed," Barkdull said. "We’ve been working toward that goal for a long time and we know what it would mean for sockeye fishing in the watershed."