Sockeye typically start arriving in the Stanley area around the third week of July. They were on cue this year with the first fish being trapped on July 23. Sockeye will continue returning into October, but most are expected to arrive during August and September. 

Based on tags implanted in some of Idaho’s sockeye, Johnson said about 970 of the sockeye that crossed Lower Granite are likely heading to the Sawtooth Basin near Stanley, which is about 400 miles from Lower Granite Dam. Now, it’s a waiting game to see how many Idaho sockeye arrive.

Through Aug. 19, 33 sockeye had arrived in the Stanley area. Earlier this summer, Fish and Game staff also trapped and transported 255 sockeye from Lower Granite to the Eagle Fish Hatchery near Boise when the summer heatwave was warming river temperatures to levels that are dangerous for sockeye.

Fish and Game captures sockeye in traps at Redfish Lake Creek and in the Upper Salmon River upstream from the confluence of Redfish Lake Creek. Returning sockeye are either trucked to Eagle and held for genetic testing before being spawned at the Eagle Hatchery or allowed to spawn naturally in Redfish, Petit or Alturas lakes.