Northwest Fishing Magazine July 2025 Volume 4 Issue 9 - Flipbook - Page 29
All the fish in this upper
reach of the river are
headed up the Okanogan
River and into lakes in
Canada.
THE THERMAL BARRIER:
Sockeye do not like to slow
down for anything. The
only times they really stop
are when they make it to
their home lake, have to
cross a dam, or encounter
some type of obstacle. In
this case, it's what we call
the thermal barrier. You
see, when the Okanogan
gets above 70 degrees,
the sockeye will stay down
in the cooler Columbia,
making them sitting ducks
until cooler waters prevail.
Most years, the thermal
barrier will set in by mid
to late July, but varies
depending on snowmelt
and weather temperatures.
The last couple of years,
the thermal barrier was set
right from the get-go, and
this year looks no different.
You can find the Okanogan
River temperature on the
USGS river flows site.
THE BREWSTER 500
You will not get solitude
up in Brewster, but you
will find great fishing.
Most of the boats will
fish right at the mouth of
the Okanogan, but if you
want fewer boats, you can
fish down by the pump
house. There is a nice shelf
there, and the fish will sit
all throughout there up to
just above the Okanogan.
To target these fish, I like
to run a size 0 dodger in
either chrome, chrome/
silverscale, or moon jelly.
Followed by a Mack's Lure
smile blade, 3 red beads,
and a coon shrimp. I will
run anywhere between a
12 and 16-inch leader, with
14 being my sweet spot. I
recommend either a 2 or 3
single hook setup tied with
2/0 hook or 1 single and a
size 4 to 6 treble for a trailer.
These will generally be 10
to 25 feet deep and can be
targeted with either lead
balls or with downriggers.
