The salmon that drive a summer economy across north-central Washington are not returning in the numbers anyone expected, and state managers have responded by pulling the plug on one of the region's most anticipated fisheries.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed the Upper Columbia recreational sockeye fishery will not open on July 1, while the Hanford Reach sockeye season, opened June 16, was shut on June 20. Managers also trimmed the Lower Columbia fishery by four retention days.
The reason is stark. Before the season, biologists forecast about 275,000 adult sockeye crossing Bonneville Dam. The latest projections put the actual return at less than half that, closer to 100,000 fish, roughly a third of the recent 10-year average.
"Sockeye returns are tracking well-below what fishery managers forecasted before the season, which means fewer fish are available to support fisheries throughout the Columbia River system," said Quinten Daugherty, WDFW's acting Columbia River fisheries manager.
For the towns strung along the Brewster Pool, the closure lands hard.
"It's definitely heartbreaking," said Mike Mauk, owner of Brewster Bait and Tackle. He did not blame regulators. "I'm not happy, but that's fishing. It's nobody's fault. The fish aren't coming."
Guides describe a faster, sharper hit. "All my clients are dropping like flies. We're losing deposits. It's hurting," said Jerrod Gibbons, who runs Okanogan Valley Guide Service. He expects the damage to outlast this summer. "It's going to put a hamper on bookings for next year."
The worry is shared by others who depend on the run. "Salmon seems to kind of be the lifeblood of some of these towns," said Austin Moser of Austin's Northwest Adventures.
What is harder to explain is why the fish vanished. Chad Jackson, a WDFW regional fish program manager, has been blunt about the uncertainty.
"It's going to be one of the lowest in the more modern era of sockeye," Jackson said. He stopped short of naming a culprit. "I don't think we have a smoking gun. There's not any one or two or three variables that we can point to at this moment."
His instinct points upstream, into the fish's early life. "My curiosity goes to what happened in the freshwater as these things were rearing and migrating out," he said.
The contrast with recent history sharpens the disappointment. In 2024 the system saw a record run of more than 750,000 sockeye past Bonneville. This is now the second straight year the upper river has underdelivered.
The door is not fully shut for 2026. WDFW says it may reopen opportunities later in the season if enough fish return above spawning and conservation needs. The Lake Wenatchee and Brewster Pool fisheries, in particular, could open if passage at Tumwater Dam clears a target of 23,000 adult spawners.
"We understand anglers in the Upper Columbia are disappointed by these closures," Jackson said.
For now the boats stay on the trailer, the deposits get refunded, and a string of small Washington towns waits to see whether the fish that built their summers find their way home.
