This year we’ve gotten a sockeye season on both Lake Wenatchee and Brewster. Today I got to fish with Shane Moon of Moon’s Guide Service on Lake Wenatchee.

We met at 4:30am and I was surprised to see not a huge line up of trailers for a Saturday morning. Loading our gear into Shane’s boat, we made a leisurely course for mid-lake. The main fleet was at the far end of the lake and it’s always nice to start away from the big crowd of boats. The wind was blowing, not horrible – yet. Anyone that has fished Lake Wenatchee knows that it can get really windy and white-capped very quickly!

Using standard sockeye gear, O dodgers and two red hooks, some with Mack’s smile blades, Shane ran four rods of downriggers, varying the depth from 40-90 feet deep. No scent or bait is allowed due to the bull trout in the lake they are trying to protect.

It wasn’t long before we got our first take down of the day and with it our first lost fish. It can be that way with sockeye, and we found ourselves 1-5 in no time. The tide began to turn though, as we steadily added fish to the cooler bag. Meanwhile, the wind was also steadily getting stronger. About the time we had ten fish in the boat the lake had gone into full white cap mode and we decided it was time to get off the lake.

The fish are running a bit smaller this year than in the past, but they are in good shape and you can keep four. There’s still time to get a trip booked and go out for these tasty salmon, give Shane a call!

509-860-6497 https://www.moonsguideservice.com/

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