With all the focus lately on the Lake Wash. situation I'm curious if any of our other Puget Sound river systems supported a sockeye run in the past.

I know about the Skagit/Baker and B.C's Fraser, but what about the Snohomish system or the Stilly? Did these rivers ever host these prized fish? If there was such a thing as a sockeye run, what kind of numbers were there and what happened? Are they more vulnerable to man and the environment than other Pacific Salmon stocks?

Proper sockeye habitat requires a lake in conjunction with a river. The smolt live in the lake for a year or two prior to outmigrating.

There are some in-river spawn raise smolts that occur each year from the area rivers (yes, there are sockeye runs in numerous rivers), but these quantities are minimal.

Predator is correct in that there are some river sockeye in all of our local rivers. However they are present in small numbers typically from a small handful to occassionally a couple hundred. Never in what would be called fishable numbers.

There is one school of thought that these rive sockeyes are the pioneering portion of the species. Genetically the river fish look much the same across broad geographic areas and the think is that if these pioneering fish find suitable habitats (i.e. a large lake system) they will colonize the water and a locally adopted population will develop.

Tight lines
S malma

This page has every sockeye stock in the state, including the "Puget Sound River Sockeye."

http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/fish/sockeye/

I believe there are only two recognized sockeye "runs" in the Puget Sound basin. The Baker and the Cedar. Although reds can be found periodically in other river systems. Strays?Interestingly enough the Cedar stocks are actually from the Baker run, which was not a native run either. Apparently the Cedar fish were introduced into the Lk Washington system back in the mid 1930's. Oddly, within only 50 years of their introduction into Lake Washington, two, possibly three, separate and distinct sockeye groups have developed; river spawners (Cedar) and shore spawners. There are also other small runs, like the Ozette and Quinault, as well as some Columbia stocks that call the Lake Wenatchee system home. Of course, there are always those pesky land locked kokanee that spawn in their associated rivers as well. Sadly, I hear the Lake Sammamish koke is virtually extinct today.
For some good throne room material on the subject check out: www. nwrc.gov/wdb/pub/0177.pdf

Mike,
Have you landed one yet?

The Skokomish used to host sockeye before Tacoma Power started the Cushman project.

If I'm correct, the same went for the Nisqually.

Thanks to all who took the time to share your educated responses, I really appreciate all the info.

My favorite fishing buddy, my eleven yr. old son, who is quite the "little fisherman," has as one of his goals to catch a sockeye in a river. He has always wanted to know if possibly, maybey, what if? Could he by chance get into one on the Skykomish where we tend to fish the most? Now we know it's extremely unlikely and we'll need to point our rods in a different direction.

We've never tried the Baker and from what I've heard it sounds a bit less civilized than we are used to. Is it worth the effort for us greenhorns to give it a try? We'll be camping at Baker Lake in a couple weeks and would love to try something new.

Thanks again! SloMo & Fishkid

Mooch, I've C and R'd one several years ago. Beautiful fish. Haven't seen another since.

Mooch -
A small point - the Baker population is a native population. Baker Lake and its sockeye existed long prior to the daming of the Baker River.

Tight lines
S malma

Smalma,
Thanks for the correction.

SlowMo,

The chance of getting one out of the Sky or most any other river aside from the Skagit/Baker is extremely low. I'm probably not stressing how low it is well enough, if that helps. If he truely wants to catch some, don't waste your time at the Baker. Educate yourself now on the Fraser run that will open in the next week or two and hop over the border for some knuckle busting fun. His chance of hooking into one up there will be very good if you gather up enough info. rln from Delta, BC does a great job of keeping this board up on what is happening up there. You may want to P.M. him for additional help.

Good luck!

Thanks Much Predator...Sounds like a great plan! I haven't fished the Fraser before but it's about time to give it a try.

I'll for sure watch out for any and all info comming out of B.C. on this fishery, especially if rln has any input to share. I realize this is a BIG river and on paper seems intimidating so we could really use whatever help we can get.

Thanks again, SloMo & Fishkid :p

Smalma

I have talked to a guy who has seen maybe half a dozen in the Sky before. Are these left over from some run that no longer exists or were these fish just lost and wandered over from another river?

Click on the link I provided and then click on the Puget Sound River Sockeye. They are wild fish that spawn in the river and rear possibly in the saltwater. Could have been started by strays and have grown in number (still only a few dozen to coupel hundred). They really are a mystery.

junky,

At your age life is filled with mystery.

Keep searching! The answers are out there.

Fishingjunky15

My boy & I read through the info in the link you provided and found it very educational. We found it interesting some of these "mystery" fish have been found in the Wallace. We've fished that area of the Skykomish many times over the years but have never heard of anybody actually catching a sockeye there.

Fishkid is all excited now and can't wait to GO FISH! The next time he hooks-up he's hoping it's a sockeye but understands it's a long shot. Anyway, it's just another excuse to get out give it a try.

Thanks, SloMo & Fishkid