I got out and about this week. Did everything from fishing Lake Roosevelt to attending the annual Wenatchee Sportsman’s Association Wild Game Feed and Auction. I even did a survey of some of the lakes that opened on March 1st.

My wife Eileen and I have always enjoyed checking out our area lakes on opening days. We never take our rods, just the camera, and talk to anglers at each of the lakes that we visit. Our first stop was at Quincy Lake. There were a lot of campers, trailers and RVs parked near the lake, and lots of boats and other watercraft out on the water. We talked to some of the anglers fishing from shore and their success varied as usual. I did find two anglers cleaning their catch at the west end of Quincy Lake. They had started their day at Spring Lake, one of the walk-in lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area. I measured the biggest fish on their stringer and it was very close to 18 inches long. The trout they landed at Quincy Lake were all about 12 inches. The photo in this week’s column is of Louis Arizmendi and his grandfather, Louis Mendez, with a Quincy Lake rainbow.

There weren’t many anglers at Burke Lake. The word was out that the lake had been rehabbed last fall and people just didn’t expect the fishing to be good. However, there was a plant of 3,500 catchable size rainbow in Burke the Friday before the opener. Fishing for these smaller rainbow should be good soon. We headed for George to check out Martha and Caliche Lakes. When we arrived, all the people we talked to reported slow fishing. Now the fishing may have been good in the morning, but by the time we got there no one was catching anything. We pointed the F-150 in the direction of Caliche Lake. The story was different here. Most everyone I talked to had caught fish and some had limits. I measured a fish that a young man had just landed. It stretched the tape to 12 inches. It looks like Caliche is offering pretty good fishing in the early season.

Since we were in the area, Eileen agreed that we should make the drive to Beverly and check on Lake Lenice. When we arrived, there were just two rigs in the parking area. It appeared that most anglers had already headed home. I made the hike into the lake anyway, and took a couple of photos. I did see two float tubers in the distance and actually heard a woman shouting to her partner that she had “got one, and it was a big one, too.” I sent a text to fellow commissioner, Jim Anderson, who I knew was going to be fishing Lenice on the opener. He replied that he had caught and released 15 and many others had caught and released double digit numbers of rainbow on Lenice. Sounds like it would be a good year to take up fly fishing.

What I learned on March 1st is that anglers should do well at the annual Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce Trout Derby at Quincy Lake on March 7th. I would encourage folks to go to the website at www.quincyvalley.com and register online. It will save you some time, as you will want to be fishing early. If you are not fishing from a boat, people will be scrambling to find a good spot to fish from shore at Quincy. I plan to be there and to buy a bunch of raffle tickets. There is close to $5,000.00 in cash and prizes that will be handed out between the winners in both the adult and youth divisions and the raffles. It looks like the weather is going to be good this weekend so Quincy Lake will be a good place to be.

I had a great time at the 55th Annual Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Association Wild Game Feed and Auction on Saturday evening. There was a very good crowd and the St. Joseph’s Catholic School facility was spacious enough for everyone to move around. Many were dropping raffle tickets into the tubs at one table or writing down a bid for the silent auction at another table. All this was going on while delicious aromas were emanating from the kitchen. I want to mention that all the fish and game that is served at the event come from donations. These donations are generous, considering the size of the crowd that was going to be served—something like 270 people! The menu is too long to list here, but some of the highlights were the Bear Carnitas, planked Wild Salmon, Swedish Moose Meatballs and Roasted Elk.

The meal at this annual event has always been something special, but what’s really special are the people that make up the membership of this organization. Since 1928 they have been doing projects that benefit the fish and wildlife in our area. The number of volunteer hours they log each year is astounding. I also want to mention their commitment to the youth in our community and their efforts to introduce them to activities they can pursue in the outdoors. They are out in force at the Rock Island Free Kids Fishing Day at the Pitt Pond every year, loaning out rods, reels and bait to kids who want to catch a fish. That event will be coming up the third Saturday in April again this year. They also host a National Hunting and Fishing Day in September. There have been as many as 22 separate educational booths at the event. Kids also get hands-on instruction on target shooting with rifles and bow and arrow. It is a huge undertaking and attendance has grown from just 80 kids in 2017 to over 300 kids in 2019. I can’t say enough about what this group does for fish and wildlife in our region and their efforts to get our young people and their families outdoors. All their projects are funded by this annual event.

Oh, yeah. I did get out on Lake Roosevelt with Keith and Kathy Archibald last Thursday. Given the benefit of my expertise we put one rainbow in the boat. Oh, well.

I hope to see you Saturday at Quincy Lake for the Derby!