Kelly,

Salmon runs are just beginning in Puget Sound for the most part. The =
Lake Washington sockeye run is among the earliest salmon runs in the =
region. This run peaks through the locks just after the 4th of July, =
then the fish stay in the Lake until September or so, before running up =
the Cedar River. The run was pretty well through the locks by the end =
of July, with 99% or so of the run into the Lake by then. They shouldn't =
be in the streams in any numbers for a while, yet. This is an =
'established' run, propagated from Baker Lake stock (Skagit system), and =
is among the earliest sockeye in this area - only the Early Stuart stock =
of sockeye from the Fraser River system is as early.

In Olympia, the vanguard of the summer/fall chinook stock returning to =
the Deschutes system began arriving in late June, but the main portion =
of the run is just now entering Capitol Lake. If you stop at the =
downtown Kentucky Fried Chicken parts restaurant and walk over to the =
check-dam that keeps Capitol Lake from being a working estuary, you can =
see the peak of the chinook run entering over the fish ladder for the =
next few weeks.

Except for a small even-year run (2,000 or so...) in the Snohomish, the =
pink salmon in Washington return only during odd-numbered years (1995, =
1997, etc). Pinks (Humpies) arrive in early September and there were =
1.5 million of them coming back to the Skagit River, alone, last year =
(what Salmon Crisis?).

Coho salmon will start coming in about the end of the month, and will =
peak in the Sound in mid September, entering the spawning streams from =
October through December.

The later-arriving chum salmon runs will start coming in in late =
September (early stocks) and October to most of the streams of the =
Sound. The eagles and gulls should concentrate along some of the main =
rivers and streams in November to feed on the spawners and spawned-out =
carcasses, Dippers will feed on the washed out eggs from later-arriving =
spawners digging out the redds of the earlier-spawning fish. In the =
spring, the eggs will begin hatching, and the cycle begins again....

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net

Kelly McAllister wrote:

>>Salmon runs at this time of year are well underway but, to my =
knowledge, there are few fish in the small streams where they can be =
easily seen. An exception would probably be the Cedar River, where the =
sockeye should be visible spawning in all their flaming glory. The =
viewing windows at the Chittendon locks in Ballard should have fish as =
well, likely Chinook salmon. Olympia has its salmon run through Capital =
Lake and on up the Deschutes River to the concrete spawning ponds. =
These fish can be viewed at 5th Avenue dam or being spawned at Tumwater =
Falls Park.=20

Kelly McAllister