I think I picked the worst day to fish last week. We have had some really nice sunny days this fall, and I should pay more attention to the weather and less about when I want to go. If I am more patient and pick sunny and calm days I will probably have better experiences on the water.

My fishing partner James Lebow asked for the second time, “Whose idea was this”? Well, it was my idea. James is one of my frequent fishing partners that I can count on to go rain or shine. I thought I had picked a day with partly sunny skies and calm water. However, we were in the fourth hour of walleye fishing on Potholes Reservoir, and I was wrong about the weather. The wind was knocking us around, our fingers were freezing, and James was having a heck of a time keeping the boat straight.

We were looking for walleye in the rolling dunes northeast of the State Park. Occasionally, we would see a walleye mark on the screen, but the bite was far from hot. We had landed some decent walleye but the intervals between good bites and landing a fish were long. We had caught some dandy largemouth bass, a whopper bluegill, and a decent perch. We stuck with it though. I was glad I wasn’t driving. James had the kicker in gear and used the bow mount to steer us through the marks on the fish finder he laid down on previous trips. Actually, we were glad we put up with the conditions as long as we did. When we headed for the dock there were five nice walleye in the live well. They ranged in size from 14 to 20 inches. More than enough for a couple of fresh walleye dinners. It wasn’t the coldest day we had spent on Potholes, but it was close. This week’s photo is of the 20-incher from our trip to Potholes.

As you probably know, I have been checking on the Icicle River for signs of coho salmon for the past few weeks. Finally, I found evidence of them being in the river. In fact, I came across two anglers with their limits of coho. They were fishing at the hole right at the boundary below the hatchery. They had their four fish and showed me photos of several more that were in the hole. They said they had several more swats on their twitching jigs and finally hooked and landed their four.

If they are there they are in other areas of the Icicle. They said another place they had heard that fish were being taken was at the access off Icicle River Road. Although the fish are dark in appearance, in previous seasons, I have found that the meat is still dark red on these fish. It sure took the fish a long time to show up this year, due to the very low water conditions. We are expecting rain for the next several days and that should move more coho into the upper Icicle. I am glad to see they are finally getting here. Now’s the time to get ‘em. There were more anglers than I had seen on the Icicle last weekend. Fishing is still pretty slow, though. One angler I talked to had released a fish that was foul hooked, but that was it for him. He was the only angler I saw in the stretch near the handicapped platform. There were more anglers fishing the corner below the boat launch that I didn’t talk to.

I got a call from Kevin Witte the other day. I have done a couple of videos with Kevin, who guides for walleye, kokanee and sturgeon, out of Kettle Falls. In one I landed a walleye that probably weighed over 14 pounds, and in the other one I landed a sturgeon just under the slot limit. He said sturgeon fishing on Lake Roosevelt is hot right now. He is averaging 10 to 12 fish a day. The slot limit is 53 to 63 inches, and he is getting his share of keepers. The day I talked to him his party hooked 20, landed 16 and got one keeper. He is fishing two areas right now. One is off the mouth of the Colville River and the other is around China Bend. He says he hits several holes on his way up to China Bend and that makes it a fun trip. Kevin mentioned that he is very impressed with the hatchery program, and the way the sturgeon fishery on Lake Roosevelt is going. He will be fishing right up to the end of the season on November 30th. I couldn’t make it up to fish with Kevin next week, but there are more open days in November. Man, I do want to do a day of this. If you want to experience “big game” fishing in Washington, you can contact Kevin at 509-398-7995, or visit his website at www.upriveroutfitter.com.

If you fish Brants Landing or the fishing accesses above Chief Joseph Dam on Rufus Woods, you have probably met Dave, the guy that checks catches of trout for the Colville Tribe. He is out their almost every day and is a great source of current information on the fishing. I called him the other day, wondering if it was time to give fishing a try from the shore at Brandts Landing. After talking with Dave, I decided I might want to wait a few weeks. He reported that fishing had been pretty slow, and the fish that angles were catching had been smaller than usual. There are some 1- to 2-pound trout caught, and he doesn’t know where they are coming from. The triploids that the Colville Tribe releases into Rufus Woods are typically bigger than this when they go in and are much larger than that by the fall and winter.

I usually start fishing at Brandts in December, and I think I will stick to that plan this year. I would probably have better luck fishing from shore at Spring Canyon or Keller for trout on Lake Roosevelt. If I hit it on the right day I have caught a limit of them that measure 16 to 21 inches. These are triploids, too, and are great for smoking.

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