I had some obligations that kept me off the water much of last week, but I did get some time in at Lake Wenatchee for sockeye. Recent reports of improved fishing has me excited to get back out there. There are several other good fisheries going now, too.

An often-overlooked special fishery is the opening of trout fishing at Bridgeport. This special season is only open through August 15th, each year, and is aimed at removing triploid rainbow trout from this area below Chief Joseph Dam. It is timed to occur when our upper Columbia steelhead have yet to arrive in this area. The daily limit is 10 fish. Barbless hooks are required, and only adipose fin clipped fish may be kept. This can be a really fun fishery at times.

Anglers either fish with bobbers and jigs or cast white hoochies or tube jigs to the shore. When casting tube jigs, anglers will often push a Corkie into the head of jig to make it buoyant. Some of the more popular spots are on the north shore just below the Highway 17 bridge, the point below the sandy beach on the south shore, and at the “Blow Hole”, which is the outlet at the Colville Trout Hatchery, below the town of Bridgeport.

Another often overlooked fishery this time of year is for smallmouth bass in the Okanogan River. Anglers fish above the bridge at the mouth of the Okanogan River and cast crank baits or jigs to the shore. There’s plenty of water from here to the Monse Bridge. I have friends that have told me that they catch and release 50 or more smallmouth in this stretch of the Okanogan River.

I have put some people off that I was going to take fishing for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. Fishing had been very slow, and I was hoping the bite would improve. I have many friends and family that I want to take out for some sockeye fishing fun. In the meantime, I got to do something that I enjoy doing all by myself. I got my fly rod and drove up the Icicle River valley to one of the stretches that I like to fish. It’s a lot cooler up the valley than in Leavenworth, and I rarely find anyone in the same place that I fish. The trout are small, but they act like they are big ones, pouncing on the fly and jumping. I chuckle to myself watching them. Since I had spent a couple of hours struggling to load an audio recording program onto a backup computer, getting out on the river is a great way to clear my mind. I marveled at the scent in the air on the way back to my truck. Nothing like that pine aroma. Next time I get wound up, I know where to wind down, on the river, casting to small trout.

I had enjoyed several days of great fishing for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee, and I saw other anglers doing well, too. I had last Sunday off, and it allowed me to sleep in and get ready for another week of fishing. I was looking forward to taking some friends out, who were traveling all the way from Moses Lake. I had them meet me at Cole Corner at 4:30, so we wouldn’t miss the early morning bite. There was a stiff breeze blowing and it was darn chilly out as we left the dock, and I got my gear out. Well, there wasn’t a morning bite, and in fact there wasn’t a bite at all. We caught just one fish and gave it up. I was very disappointed. I really wanted to show them a good time. On Tuesday my brother Rick came up and Rollie Schmitten joined us.

In spite of my poor performance the day before, I expected the three of us to find a way to catch a bunch of fish. Not so. We fished up to the top end of the lake and made several loops and only landed one fish. We trolled down to the area above West Point and landed one more. There was a brief bite and we saw several fish landed at about 10 a.m., but the action has definitely slowed for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. This week’s photo was taken during a stormy day on the lake last year.

I am attributing the slow bite to the especially bright full moon. I don’t know what your opinion is about moon phases, but it has proven to be a factor for me over the years. I always planned my group trips to Belize and Mexico around the dark of the moon, and that seems to have paid off.

Although I had some tough days, I know that there were other anglers that were in the right place at the right time and landed fair numbers of fish. I am already hearing about a much improved bite and can’t wait to get back out. I am also hearing that the quality of the fish is holding up well, too.

You may have heard that there has been some closures to sturgeon fishing below Priest Rapids Dam and further downstream. There is some good news for fans of sturgeon fishing. Lake Roosevelt is going to open to fishing for white sturgeon beginning on September 16th. The daily limit is one sturgeon, with an annual limit of two. Check out the official news release for all the details.
It may seem like a ways off, but I advise people to start planning if you want to use a guide service or book hotel rooms. I have fished for sturgeon on Lake Roosevelt a couple of times, and although I haven’t landed a keeper, there was always some action, and battling even sub-limit size sturgeon is fun. You get a glimpse of what sturgeon fishing is like by going to the Dave Graybill YouTube channel and watching the video I did with Kevin Witte a couple of years ago. Kevin lives in Kettle Falls and knows the sturgeon fishery on this stretch of the Columbia River very well.

Although I had some tough days, I know that there were other anglers that were in the right place at the right time and landed fair numbers of fish. I am already hearing about a much improved bite and can’t wait to get back out. I am also hearing that the quality of the fish is holding up well, too. In fact I ran up to Lake Wenatchee after last weekend to make sure everything is ready to go for more sockeye trips. I am locked and loaded for more sockeye fishing fun!