The bad news is that sockeye season won’t open on July 1st, along with the opening of summer salmon season. The good news is that there definitely will be a sockeye season on the upper Columbia. There are attempts being made to move as many 60,000 fish up the Okanogan River into Canada before the water temperatures get too high for survival of the returning sockeye. Releases of cold water from the across the border are planned to keep the Okanogan River’s temperature down to encourage sockeye to head up stream. Last year, of over 400,000 sockeye forecast to return to the Okanogan, only 12,000 made it to the spawning beds. The hatchery in Penticton has the capacity to release up to 5 million sockeye smolts but it needs fish. The future of consistent sockeye returns to the Columbia could be assured when this facility reaches full production. It is worth the wait on the opening of sockeye fishing to get these valuable fish up the Okanogan. I am eager as everyone to get our after sockeye this year. Like I say, the good news is that will definitely get the opportunity. We just have wait a little longer.