Wenatchee River

[MarkFromSea]

I must be doing something wrong, I can't find it in the rivers or reports section....

I've also got another dilemma, I love Westport but I'm a bit too tired to hit it this weekend. That rough water in a small boat takes it's toll. So I was thinking of hitting the Wenatchee river for this Spring king opener that started today. I suck as a river fisherman so I figured I'd just hit a couple of the open areas described in the announcement and throw eggs at them. http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/jun0514a/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe start at the hatchery and then check downstream a couple of stops till I hit the BIG CR.

Has anyone heard if there is actually nooks in the cookie jar(Wenatchee River)?

[zen leecher]

I think I read it's a "selective" fishery and that would be no bait.

I thought it might be good for drifting eggs until I read about it being "selective".

[MarkFromSea]

I think I read it's a "selective" fishery and that would be no bait.

I thought it might be good for drifting eggs until I read about it being "selective".

I saw that too, then, saw where bait was allowed... I'll look again... maybe in emergency reg section... might be more clear than the announcement link I posted.

[MarkFromSea]

Here's from the announcement:
In addition to the mark-selective rules in effect for the fishery, anglers are required to:

Retain any legal hatchery spring chinook they catch until they reach their daily limit, then stop fishing for spring chinook.
Release any spring chinook with one or more round holes punched in the tail fin. These fish are vital to ongoing studies in the upper Wenatchee River Basin.
Observe selective gear rules in effect on the Wenatchee River wherever chinook seasons are open. No gear restrictions are in effect on the Icicle River, and anglers may use bait on both rivers.
Heed the prohibition of internal combustion motorized vessels and observe night closures on the Wenatchee and Icicle rivers.

Observe selective gear rules in effect on the Wenatchee River wherever chinook seasons are open. No gear restrictions are in effect on the Icicle River, and anglers may use bait on both rivers.

[MarkFromSea]

Here's the emergency reg:
https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efis ... sp?id=1454" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MarkFromSea]

And... this is out of the emergency reg:
Selective gear rules are in effect, except bait is allowed. Night closure in effect for all spring chinook fishery areas.

[MarkFromSea]

I think I read it's a "selective" fishery and that would be no bait.

I thought it might be good for drifting eggs until I read about it being "selective".

Yep, emergency reg is more clear. It's selective but bait is allowed.... up to 3 single barbless hooks, no trebles, no doubles.
Is there any fish in there? 10,000 hatch are expected... these fish do have to slide down plywood to get over the cracked dam.

[MarkFromSea]

I must be doing something wrong, I can't find it in the rivers or reports section....

So I sort of found it, no reports have been made so it doesn't show up when looking for it.... I suspect. It is an option while making a report for the Wenatchee River... need some reports I guess!

[zen leecher]

I think I read it's a "selective" fishery and that would be no bait.

I thought it might be good for drifting eggs until I read about it being "selective".

Yep, emergency reg is more clear. It's selective but bait is allowed.... up to 3 single barbless hooks, no trebles, no doubles.
Is there any fish in there? 10,000 hatch are expected... these fish do have to slide down plywood to get over the cracked dam.

Well.... you know what happens when a fly fisherman reads "selective fishery". I may have to dust off some of my egg jars and find a drift rod. We don't use too many drift rods over here.

[MarkFromSea]

LOL Details details.... Let's just go catch some fish! LOL Bait and selective is that oxymoron type stuff but, bait should catch these guys.

Side note: I rarely get the CR endorsement. I got it this year solely because of the expected record number of Columbia River salmon this year. These are the opportunities I wanted to capitalize on. This Spring nook fishery on the Wenatchee hasn't happened in almost 20 years!

[jpd45acp]

There are fish in the system. The Wenatchee is still running high, but it should improve soon. The Icicle is producing fish, but access is an issue. The local paper stated that 20,000 chinook have already gone over Rock Island Dam, which are fantastic numbers.

[jpd45acp]

I suggest keeping an eye on the fish counts from both Rock Island and Rocky Reach dams. Try this web site :http://www.chelanpud.org/fish-counts.cfm