![]() Those lakes, which are crucial for providing sockeye spawning opportunities, are all linked by the Okanogan River, which dumps into the Columbia River at Brewster. ![]() The salmon caught at Brewster hit the Pacific Coast and eventually pass through nine hydroelectric dams to reach their spawning waters of Osoyoos Lake, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border north of Oroville.Įfforts are ongoing to return the fish even further north into British Columbia at Okanagan Lake. It’s one of few success stories in a tortured conflict between the need for hydroelectric power and the life-sustaining historical runs of salmon in the Northwest. They worked with their ancestral counterparts, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington, along with state and federal agencies that manage the dams on the Columbia. On the Canadian side, the sockeye return got a boost when tribal leaders, who are part of the eight-tribe Okanagan Nation Alliance, built hatcheries to restore the sockeye. That spectacle was made possible as part of a two-decade cooperation between governments and local tribes that have restored a run which virtually had gone away. It’s the promise of that moment that lures hundreds of anglers each year to the fruit-bearing Brewster, Washington, for the sockeye run of July and August. The sockeye’s great run has ended to the roars of victory. The pressure of the line forces the fish into the surface wash near the boat.Ī stab of the long-handled net, and contact. ![]() The rotating hand guides the sockeye back into the clear. It’s on.įinally, an aqua-green flash presents itself as the salmon sees the boat and makes a run to its right. Shouted instructions mix with adrenaline. – The rod doubles over and three men race to separate positions in the confined space of a boat. ![]()
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