Have you been checking the fish counts?  Sockeye numbers are taking off on the Columbia.  The total for one day over Priest Rapids was 24,000!  There are way 460,000 over Bonneville, so the run is going to be even bigger than the forecast.  It could be a half-million, who knows?  I got some below Wanapum Dam last week and I was very impressed with the size of most of the fish.

Shane Magnuson, Upper Columbia Guide Service, said that the smallest sockeye he's catching this year are larger than the biggest fish he got last season.  I have had two fresh sockeye dinners and I want more.  I pretty much missed out on the big run we had a couple of years ago, but I am going to cash in on this one.  I want a bunch of these prime sockeye for my smoker.

They are pouring over Priest now and people will be able to catch them above Rocky Reach, below Wells and at the Brewster Pool very soon.  The set up is simple, too.  Just a size 0 silver dodger, a 15-inch leader to a pink squid baited with shrimp and you're in business.