Osoyoos Lake sockeye fishery tracker
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) decides each year whether the recreational sockeye fishery on Osoyoos Lake opens. I run sockeye trips only as a special reservation in years when DFO opens it. In other years, my trips stay on Okanagan Lake for kokanee and rainbow trout. This page tracks each season's decision, with the DFO notice behind it.
DFO has not issued a 2027 notice for the Osoyoos Lake sockeye fishery. I will update this page when DFO issues one.
Season by season, 2016 to 2026
Every opening in this period covered the North Basin of Osoyoos Lake only (the part north of the Highway 3 bridge). The Wells Dam count is the annual sockeye count at Wells Dam on the Columbia River, the last mainstem dam before the Okanogan River.
| Year | Fishery | Open dates | Area | Daily limit | Wells Dam count | DFO notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Closed | n/a | n/a | n/a | 53,466 (to 11 Nov) | None issued to 11 Nov; DFO Region 8 page: no fishing for sockeye |
| 2025 | Closed | n/a | n/a | n/a | 72,708 | None issued; DFO Region 8 page: no fishing for sockeye |
| 2024 | Open | 7 to 22 Sep | North Basin | 2 sockeye | 491,039 | FN0920 (open), FN0983 (close) |
| 2023 | Not opened (no DFO notice found) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 136,956 | None found |
| 2022 | Open | 2 to 31 Aug | North Basin | 2 sockeye | 478,418 | FN0809 (open), FN0951 (close) |
| 2021 | Closed | n/a | n/a | n/a | 76,255 | FN0674 (closed) |
| 2020 | Open | 31 Jul to 7 Sep | North Basin | 2 sockeye | 226,107 | FN0710 (open), FN0901 (close) |
| 2019 | Not opened (no DFO notice found) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 49,862 | None found |
| 2018 | Open, two windows | 3 to 13 Aug; 17 to 26 Aug | North Basin | 2 sockeye | 153,637 | FN0687 (open), FN0788 (reopen), FN0848 (close) |
| 2017 | Closed | n/a | n/a | n/a | 42,299 | FN0758 (closed) |
| 2016 | Open | 29 Jul to 5 Sep | North Basin | 2 sockeye | 216,036 | FN0694 (open), FN0842 (update), FN0946 (close) |
Wells Dam counts are from Columbia River DART (University of Washington) and can be revised after a season. Most sockeye counted at Wells are Okanagan-bound. For 2019 and 2023, no Osoyoos Lake sockeye notice appears in DFO's notice list for that year. Open years also carried standing rules: daylight hours only, single barbless hooks, and an aggregate daily limit of four Pacific salmon (other than kokanee). Always read the notice for the year you fish.
About Okanagan sockeye
- A long trip home. Okanagan sockeye enter the Columbia River in early June for a 986 km journey upriver to their spawning grounds near Oliver.
- Nine dams. On the way they pass nine dams on the Columbia River mainstem, from Bonneville to Wells.
- The 80,000 trigger. DFO considers recreational and commercial fisheries on Osoyoos Lake only when at least 80,000 sockeye have passed Wells Dam. Openings are planned with the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the Mid Fraser Thompson Okanagan Sport Fish Advisory Committee.
- Why the season ends. The fish spawn in the Okanagan River above Osoyoos Lake from late September through October, so DFO closes the lake fishery in late August or September as they move upriver.
- From near collapse to records. Wells Dam counted 1,666 sockeye in 1994, the lowest year since counting began there in 1977. The highest count on record is 491,039 in 2024.
- A pattern, not a promise. Every open year from 2016 to 2026 was an even year. That is an observation only; no source I have read explains it, and it does not guarantee a future opening.
- Same species as kokanee. Kokanee are landlocked sockeye. Both are Oncorhynchus nerka. The Okanagan Nation's word for Okanagan sockeye is sc'win.
Where the decision is published
- DFO fishery notices, freshwater regions, 2027. Osoyoos notices are titled "RECREATIONAL - Salmon - Sockeye - Region 8 - Osoyoos Lake".
- DFO Region 8 recreational salmon page (openings and closures for the Okanagan).
- Columbia River DART adult counts (choose Wells Dam to follow the 80,000 trigger).
- Okanagan Nation Alliance (pre-season forecasts and harvest news).
- Okanagan Stream Temperature Risk Tool, Fish tab: a public tool from the Okanagan Basin Water Board with live dam counts and Okanogan River water temperatures.
Licence for sockeye
To keep a sockeye you need a BC freshwater fishing licence with the Province's non-tidal salmon conservation surcharge stamp. Both are bought in the Province's WILD system. My fishing licence guide walks through it.
Book a sockeye reservation
How the trips work, where we fish and how we catch them: Okanagan sockeye fishing: where, when and how to catch them. If DFO opens the 2027 fishery, sockeye trips run as special reservations. Ask me about one when you book.
Ask about a sockeye reservation
Last updated 11 November 2026. DFO sets the salmon rules and its notices are the final word.