I don’t expect to see many people outdoors on Sunday, February 12th. On Super Bowl Sunday most people able to draw a breath would be at home, watching the game. When I first started going to the Seattle Boat Show it went through two weekends. As the Super Bowl began to be played later and later it fell on the last Sunday of the show. Since no one was showing up, they closed the show on the Saturday of the last weekend.

I am getting reports of good ice fishing on some of the lakes in the region. Although we have had some warmer days, it appears that the ice is holding up. I still want anglers to carefully check the thickness of the ice before venturing too far out on your favorite lake. Even though we are still having pretty chilly evenings, daytime temperatures are often in the low 40s.

A fairly new development in recent winters has been the fishing for kokanee through the ice. A technique that I first heard about being used in Idaho has spread to our region, and that is using kokanee blades to jig for kokanee. Kokabow Fishing Tackle makes very effective blades that can be used through the ice. These blades are typically coupled with a Swedish Pimple, baited with scented corn. Jigging the set up works great. This week’s photo is of a selection of Kokabow Blades and Swedish Pimples.

I visited anglers at a few lakes last winter and found anglers using this method. There are several lakes that have good populations of kokanee in our region, these include Patterson Lake, near Winthrop, Palmer Lake, near Oroville, Bonaparte Lake, near Tonasket and Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. I tried Fish Lake last spring and caught kokanee that were a solid 12 inches long. They should be much larger now. It would be fun to get some kokanee this winter, and I suggest trying it soon, while the ice on our region’s lakes are still safe enough for drilling holes.

The days are getting a little longer, but we are still in the midst of winter. If you aren’t a fan of ice fishing here’s an idea about how to pass the time until we get warmer weather. A long-time outdoor writer for the Yakima Herald, Rob Phillips, has published a four-book fictional series of the adventures of Luke McClain. McClain is a fish and wildlife officer who seems to get involved in investigating crimes that lead him outside the bounds of his regular duties.

Phillips does an excellent job of keeping readers glued to the pages of these novels. When I learned that Rob had published the books, I ordered the first one on Amazon. Before I had even finished the first one, ordered the other three in the series. These are a very quick read, and I didn’t want to have to wait to get the next one. I am an avid reader and found the Luke McClain character very real and compelling. I have known Rob for years and was very impresses with his amazing writing abilities. I would highly recommend that you give these books a read. I think you will be ordering the whole series as I did.

You may get a chance to meet the author in person at the Central Washington Sportsman’s Show in Yakima on February 24th. Phillips has been a regular on the list of presenters of seminars at the show. I am sure he would be happy to see you and maybe autograph a copy of his book.

I did a seminar via Zoom last Friday for the Seattle Boat Show. I could see that I had the biggest crowd ever in the audience, and I had a lot of follow up questions for those who attended via e-mail.

It occurred to me that many of the details people asked about in the questions I received could be found in the free Winter issue of my E-Letter. I had a lot of great comments from folks who received this last issue. If you haven’t signed up for the free E-Letter, just go to www.fishingmagician.com and click on the E-Letter button at the top left hand side of the Home Page. It’s easy and I will get a copy sent to your e-mail box right away.

Looking ahead at what’s happening in the coming month I wanted to remind everyone about the annual Sportsmen’s Show in Yakima. It will be at the Sundome starting on Friday, February 24th. I really like this one, as it is small enough to take everything in, and they have so many things that the kids can do. I did a seminar via Zoom last Friday for the Seattle Boat Show. I could see that I had the biggest crowd ever, and I had a lot of follow up questions via e-mail. It occurred to me that many of the details people wanted could be found in the free Winter issue of my E-Letter. I had a lot of great comments from folks who received this one. If you haven’t signed up for the free E-Letter, just go to www.fishingmagician.com and click on the E-Letter button at the top left hand side of the Home Page. It’s easy and I will get a copy sent to your e-mail box right away. Looking ahead at what’s happening in the coming month I wanted to remind everyone about the annual Sportsmen’s Show in Yakima. It will be at the Sundome starting on Friday, February 24th. I really like this one, as it is small enough to take everything in, and they have so many things that the kids can do. It really is something that the whole family can enjoy. I will be at the show with the folks from Bob Feil Boats and Motors. If you come to the show be sure to stop by and say hi.

Also, the annual Wenatchee Sportsman’s Game Feed is schedule for Friday, March 3rd. The Wenatchee Sportsman’s Association dedicates hundreds of volunteer hours every year. Their project all benefit local fish and wildlife. The auctions at this event provides the funding for these projects. The game feed is not only a great meal and an opportunity to try game meat prepared very well, but also a lot of fun. Get your tickets at Hooked on Toys before they sell out!